I Want You to Want Me
by InvisiMeg
Summary: When Rachel tries to help her best friend get a date with the new girl, she finds herself in an unlikely predicament once she finds herself falling for the same girl.
1. New

**For those of you who follow me on tumblr, you know I wrote the first chapter to three different stories while trying to pick my next one. What I failed to tell everyone was that when I picked Goodbye to Yesterday as my next story, I also decided to work on another. **

**This is basically my homage to 90s teen movies and I hope you all enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 1 – New**

"Rach!"

Rachel stopped in her tracks and turned around to find her best friend jogging toward her; he smiled widely as he approached and hiked his backpack up on his shoulder.

"Good morning, Sam," Rachel greeted.

"We still meeting at lunch?" Sam asked.

"I haven't forgotten," Rachel said, turning, and making her way to her locker. "We'll find you the perfect song."

"We better or I won't stand a chance of getting that solo," Sam said, leaning against the locker next to hers.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you," Rachel replied. "You know how Mr. Schue is; I doubt he'll remember any of this."

"I just don't see why Finn gets all the solos," Sam said, sighing. "I'm a way better singer than him and we sound awesome together, and everyone knows you're going to get to have all the solos for Sectionals, so why not let me sing with you?"

"Sam—"

"We have to win this year," Sam continued as if she didn't say anything. "We have to win and show everyone that we're—"

"Sam," Rachel repeated, clamping her hand over his mouth.

"Was I doing it again?" he mumbled against her hand.

Rachel nodded, removing her hand. "You know I want to win just as much as you—more so, really—but there's no point in worrying about it now. Mr. Schue never decides anything until a few weeks before the competition, and even if you give an absolutely spectacular performance, he will have forgotten completely about it by next week."

Sam sighed. "It's not fair, dude; I'm a better singer than him, I'm a better dancer than him—I'm even a better quarterback than him—"

"I know, Sam," Rachel interrupted. "It's not fair, but since when has anything at this school ever been fair?"

"But—whoa."

Rachel grabbed her book from her locker and followed Sam's gaze, wondering why he had stopped talking so abruptly and was currently staring down the hall with his mouth hanging open. "What are you staring at?"

"Her," Sam said.

"Her who?" Rachel asked, turning back to close her locker.

"That blonde girl down there," Sam replied. "She's so pretty. She must be new because I would remember her if I'd ever seen her before."

Rachel tried to not roll her eyes at her friend; Sam had a new crush every month, so she was more than used to this by now. She looked down the hall again, though, and instantly spotted the girl he must be talking about. Sam was right about one thing—she was pretty. She was probably the prettiest girl Rachel had ever seen. At least Sam's taste had improved since the last one.

"Did you remember your guitar today?" Rachel asked, looking at Sam, trying to bring his attention back to their previous conversation.

"Yeah, I stashed it in the choir room," Sam said as he continued to stare down the hall.

"Was that really such a good idea?" Rachel asked. "Do you remember what happened to it the last time you left it in there? We spent an hour looking all over the school for it and we found it in one of the showers."

"I hid it in a cabinet this time," Sam replied.

Rachel sighed and looked down the hall again. "Why don't you walk down there and ask her out?"

"I can't do that," Sam said, looking at her as if she had grown a second head.

"Why not?" Rachel asked. "You're a good looking guy, Sam; she'll probably think you're cute."

"But what if she doesn't?" Sam asked. "What if she just laughs at me?"

"Then you walk away," Rachel replied.

Sam frowned at her. "You're not helping."

"The chances of her simply laughing at you are low," Rachel said, sighing. "If anything, she would probably tell you she was flattered but not interested. If she laughs at you, though, it would be an obvious sign that she's not a very nice person, and you should consider yourself lucky that you figured that out before getting involved with her."

"Oh, she's coming; pretend we're not staring," Sam said, turning in a circle, before finally leaning his back against the locker, trying to look nonchalant.

"_I'm _not staring, you are," Rachel replied, resisting the urge to laugh at her friend.

Sam smiled widely as the girl walked by with Miss Pillsbury, but his face fell when she didn't look their way. He groaned and turned around, kicking lightly at one of the bottom lockers. Rachel sighed and decided to take pity on him as she grabbed his arm, and pulled him away from the locker.

"We'll figure out who she is, okay?" Rachel said, leading him down the hallway. "We are friends with the three biggest gossips in this school, after all; one of them is bound to know something about her by lunch. Just go to class and try to focus; you can't afford to fail your exam tomorrow. It would be a terrible way to start the year."

"Okay," Sam said, nodding. "You're right."

"Of course I'm right," Rachel replied.

"What would I do without you?" Sam said, giving her a lopsided smile.

"Let's hope you never find out," Rachel said, nudging her shoulder into his arm. "I'm off to Physics; wish me luck."

"Have fun," Sam said over his shoulder.

Rachel headed into the classroom, but stopped as soon as she was in the doorway. Her usually empty table was currently occupied, and Rachel didn't know if she should sit next to the girl or find a different table. She remembered that the class was full, though, and it wasn't very nice to displace someone else for no reason.

"Out of the way, Berry," Santana's caustic voice said as she rammed her shoulder into Rachel's back, knocking her to the side.

Rachel sighed and stepped aside for Brittany to enter since wherever one was, the other wasn't far behind. Sure enough, the blonde Cheerio walked in right after the other girl, giving Rachel an apologetic smile. Brittany wasn't the nicest girl around, but at least she wasn't outwardly hostile like the other cheerleader.

Once Rachel regained her composure, she squared her shoulder, lifted her chin, and walked across the room. As she approached, the blonde looked up from her notebook and locked eyes with her. Rachel faltered for a moment, thrown by the intensity in the girl's hazel eyes, but she took the remaining few steps to the table and smiled.

"Am I in your seat?" the blonde asked.

"Yes, but I'm not particularly attached to it, so I can sit here," Rachel said, taking the seat next to her. "I'm Rachel—Rachel Berry."

"Quinn Fabray," the blonde said.

"So, what brings you to Lima?" Rachel asked. "I hope I'm not being too nosy by asking."

"My dad transferred jobs," Quinn answered. "He didn't find out until a month ago, which means I now get to spend the rest of my senior year here."

"Where did you live before?" Rachel wondered.

"Akron," Quinn replied.

Rachel nodded. "So you probably went to Carmel High."

"You've been there?" Quinn asked.

"A few times," Rachel replied. "Vocal Adrenaline is our biggest rival."

Quinn looked at her with an amused smile. "You're in show choir?"

"I am co-captain of New Directions," Rachel said with a nod. "Singing is my life. My dream is to move to New York, graduate from a performing arts school, be on Broadway, and win a Tony by the time I'm twenty-five."

"That's awfully ambitious," Quinn commented.

Rachel shrugged. "Maybe, but I'm confident my dream will come true."

"No one cares, Berry," Santana hissed in Rachel's ear as she walked by.

"Who is that?" Quinn asked, eyeing Santana.

"No one important," Rachel replied, pulling her book out of her bag.

Quinn nodded and Rachel noticed Santana smirking back at them. She looked away, determined to not let the other girl know she was getting to her. She could feel Santana staring at her, though, probably figuring out some new humiliation for her, and it made her nervous. She was about to turn to Quinn and ask how she was liking it in Lima, but the teacher walked into the room and Rachel snapped her mouth shut. When Rachel looked forward, Santana was still staring at her, and she knew she was going to end up with a slushy to her face today.

* * *

"Hey," Sam said, coming up to Rachel's locker.

"I was just about to meet you in the choir room," Rachel said, shutting her bag in her locker.

"Change of plans," Sam replied.

Rachel sighed. "What happened? Is your guitar missing?"

"Not exactly," Sam said, running a hand through his hair. "More like someone cut all the strings, so I have to go buy some new ones."

"I told you not to put it in the choir room," Rachel said, shaking her head.

"Don't rub it in," Sam replied.

"Do you still want to work on finding a song?" Rachel asked.

"No," Sam replied. "Let's just go to the cafeteria. I'm hungry anyway."

Rachel nodded and the two started walking toward the cafeteria; Rachel was looking around, making sure she wasn't about to be attacked by Santana. As she walked into the cafeteria, she immediately saw the other girl at the table in the back of the room with all the other Cheerios. That didn't mean she hadn't already talked some nameless jock into doing her bidding, though.

"Who are you looking for?" Sam asked.

"No one," Rachel replied. "I was simply making sure I wasn't about to get a slushy thrown in my face by Santana. She was staring at me in first period like I'd been marked for death."

"Yeah, I know that feeling," Sam said, glancing over his shoulder.

The two went through the line to get their food. As Sam was getting his tray, he was knocked to the side by a group of jocks who seemed to think it was their right to skip to the front of the line.

"Excuse you, Noah," Rachel said, glaring at the back of his head.

The mohawked boy looked at her, but he didn't say anything. The only reason he didn't treat her like he did everyone else in Glee was because their families went to Temple together, and if she told his grandmother how he behaved, she would not be a happy woman. She would tell her about his behavior at school, but she knew it would only lead to retaliation from all his friends. So, she didn't tell and he left her alone—it was their unspoken agreement.

"I found out a little bit about the new girl," Rachel commented as she put some salad onto her tray.

"Seriously?" Sam asked, turning around with a smile.

"Her name is Quinn Fabray, she's from Akron, she went to Carmel, she's a senior, and she's here because her dad transferred jobs," Rachel said, rattling off everything the blonde had told her.

"How do you know all this?" Sam asked, grabbing two hamburgers for himself.

"She was in my seat in physics, so I sat next to her," Rachel said with a shrug.

"Awesome," Sam said, his smile brightening. "What's she like."

"We didn't really converse very long because Mr. Jacobson came in, but she seems nice," Rachel commented. "I'm reserving my official judgment, though; she seemed amused by the fact that I am in show choir."

"Bright side?" Sam said. "At least that means she wasn't in Vocal Adrenaline, so she isn't here to spy on us or sabotage us."

Sam paid for his food and waited on Rachel to pay for hers; the two walked to their usual table, but none of their friends were there yet. It was unusual and Rachel wondered if maybe they were late because someone had been hit with a slushy. She looked toward the door, though, and saw several of them at the back of the line. They all appeared to be wearing the clothes they had previously been wearing, so she ruled out any of them being doused with the colorful drink.

"There she is," Sam said, craning his neck.

"What?" Rachel asked, starting to turn around, but Sam grabbed her arm.

"Don't look," he loudly whispered. "She'll think we're looking at her."

"We are looking at her," Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

"But she doesn't need to know that," Sam replied.

"I should ask her to join us," Sam said, running his hand through his hair.

"Well, she doesn't look like she knows where to sit, so yes, that would probably be an excellent idea," Rachel replied.

Sam nodded. "I should definitely go ask her."

"If you don't do it soon, someone else is going to ask her," Rachel stated.

"Right—you're right," Sam replied. "Okay, I'm—oh no."

"What?" Rachel asked, looking over her shoulder. "I told you someone else was going to ask her."

"Not Puck," Sam said, deflating. "Anyone but Puck."

"What are we all looking at?"

Rachel looked up and found Kurt standing at the end of the table. "The new girl; Sam was going to invite her to sit with us, but Noah got there first."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Sure he was."

"I was," Sam said, frowning. "Blaine believes me, don't you, Blaine?"

"Sure, Sam," Blaine replied, smiling way too much for it to be sincere.

"What are we looking at?" Tina asked, coming up to the table with Mercedes and Artie.

"Apparently the new girl, who is now talking to Puck," Blaine answered.

"And why do we care?" Mercedes asked.

"I don't know," Blaine replied. "Why do we care?"

"Let me guess—you like her," Kurt said, looking at Sam.

"Look at her; she's so pretty," Sam said, getting that far-off look in his eye that he usually got when he was daydreaming,

"Dude's right about that," Artie said, nodding his head in approval.

"She is very pretty," Blaine agreed, and Kurt gave him a look. "What? I'm gay, I'm not blind."

"Okay, looks aside, have you even talked to this girl?" Mercedes asked.

"No," Sam admitted. "Rachel has, though."

"What's she like?" Tina asked.

"I don't know—she seemed nice," Rachel said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"She won't be for long," Kurt replied.

"What?" Sam asked.

"It looks like she's already chosen her side," Kurt stated, nodding his head toward the other table.

Rachel looked over her shoulder and watched as the blonde sat down at the table with the Cheerios and the football players. It looked like Brittany was already talking to her, which Santana didn't look very happy about. Puck was looking at her like she was his next conquest and Finn was just staring at her.

"Ten bucks says she'll be in one of those Cheerios uniforms by the end of school," Mercedes said.

"You don't know that," Sam replied.

"Face it, you're never getting her now," Artie said, shaking his head.

Sam sighed as he watched her across the cafeteria, and repeated, "You don't know that."

"Do you think that girl's going to hang with us when she can hang with the cool kids?" Mercedes asked. "Look at her; she's a pretty, skinny, white girl. She's Coach Sylvester dream Cheerio, and who's going to say no to Coach Sylvester?"

"She might," Sam said, not sounding very sure of it.

"You don't have a chance, Sam, and you know it," Mercedes argued.

Rachel patted Sam's hand; she didn't like seeing him so down, but their friends were speaking the truth. The school was divided and nothing was going to change that. Sam had chosen his side last year when he stood up for Rachel in the hall after she'd been slushied. It really wasn't fair to him, though; that one move placed him permanently in the 'unpopular' category because Rachel was the prime target for all the jocks and cheerleaders. Sam was an athlete—a football player to be exact—but despite making the football team, his siding with Rachel made him an outcast, and he eventually quit the team because of all the harassment he faced. He was her best friend and she felt terrible that she was the cause of his social status, but he never once blamed her for it.

"He might," Blaine said. "Who says she's going to be like the rest of them? If Rachel says she's nice, maybe she is."

"Blaine, I love you, and I know you want to think the best of people, but she's going to be just like the rest of them," Kurt stated. "She'll be throwing slushies in our faces by the end of the week."

Rachel looked over her shoulder again and observed the blonde. Puck was leaning in close, saying something to her, but Rachel could tell by her rigid posture that she wasn't exactly enjoying the conversation. Finally, Puck pulled away with a smirk on his face, and then turned to talk to Finn. Quinn rolled her eyes as soon as his back was turned and Rachel had to stifle a laugh.

"What are you laughing about?" Kurt asked, eyeing her.

"Nothing," Rachel said, turning around.

Her friends continued their discussion of whether or not Quinn was going to slushy them by the end of the week, or if she was going to at least wait a few weeks. Rachel stayed out of the conversation, though; she liked to give people the benefit of the doubt, and she'd seen no indication that the other girl was going to end up like all the rest.

When she looked over her shoulder, Quinn was talking to Brittany again. She was smiling now, though, and seemed to be enjoying whatever Brittany was saying a lot more than what Puck was saying. Quinn's eyes looked in her direction, and the two locked eyes; Rachel blushed at being caught staring, but the blonde just smiled at her. Rachel gave her a small wave, and as she turned around to her friends again, she hoped they were wrong. She didn't want Quinn to become just another Cheerio.

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**There will be another chapter up on Thursday, which will be the day it's normally updated. As always, you can find the update schedule on my tumblr.**

**Please leave a comment and let me know what you thought.**


	2. Just Another Day

**MsElyy: Thank you so much! **

**Jules-Day: Yeah, I'm sure it will be fairly predictable (as all 90s movies were), but it should still be fun getting there. Basically I wanted something fun and more lighthearted to write considering my other story is a bit more serious.**

**To everyone else that favorited, followed, and reviewed, thank you. The support always means a lot to me.**

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Just Another Day**

"Talk to her," Rachel suddenly said.

Sam sighed. "I can't."

"You can," Rachel argued.

"She doesn't even know I exist," Sam replied.

"That's because you won't talk to her," Rachel said, trying to remain patient.

It had been two weeks since Quinn Fabray became the newest student at William McKinley High School and Sam had been pining for her from afar. Rachel was used to his crushes, but he was taking this one to a whole new level. Usually he would at least talk to the girl, but he wouldn't even do that with this one. Rachel wondered if all his other failed crushes had finally taken their toll; he definitely seemed much more insecure now.

"Look at her," Sam said as he stared down the hall.

"I've seen her, Sam," Rachel informed.

"Then you'd know that every other guy in this school also wants to talk to her," Sam said. "Guys that are much more popular than me."

"If you think she's that shallow, why would you even want to go on a date with her?" Rachel asked. "There are a lot of other girls in this school and any of them would be lucky to go on a date with you. You're a good guy, Sam, and you're one of the best looking guys in this school."

"You're not trying to tell me something, are you?" Sam asked, grinning.

"You know I love you, Sam, but my feelings are strictly platonic," Rachel said, nudging Sam. "I'm simply saying any girl would be lucky to have you as a boyfriend, and if they're too worried about the politics of high school to see that, they don't deserve you."

Sam wrapped his arm around Rachel and pulled her closer. "Aww, you know I love you too, Rachel. And you know what would make me love you even more?"

Rachel looked up at him, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What's that?"

"If you would put in a good word for me with Quinn," Sam said, looking hopeful.

Rachel sighed. "Sam—"

"Hear me out," Sam interrupted. "You're, like, partners in class, right? You can actually talk to her and it's okay, so if you'd just mention me and let her know I exist, maybe it'll give me a better shot. I mean, there's still some hope. She doesn't seem like she's falling for Puck's crap."

"You're right about that," Rachel said, looking down the hall at Quinn and Puck. "She definitely doesn't appear to be falling for his charms."

Rachel was actually surprised by that; Puck seemed to be pulling out all the stops with her—being charming instead of his usual crass self, attempting to act like a civilized human being—but as far as Rachel knew, Quinn wasn't falling for it. She figured she would hear it through the grapevine—namely Kurt, Mercedes or Tina—if the two ever went out, but so far she'd heard nothing. Rachel had just been happy to see that her friends were wrong about the blonde; Quinn hadn't joined the Cheerios yet and she hadn't thrown a slushy at any of them like they had predicted she would.

"Listen, all you have to do is mention me, okay?" Sam said. "Maybe tell her what a great guy you think I am. All I'm asking for is this one thing; I won't ask for anything else." He gave Rachel what she'd dubbed his 'lost puppy' look. "Please."

Rachel sighed. "Fine."

"You're the best!" Sam said, smiling, and hugging her again.

"Don't get too excited," Rachel said, putting her hand on his chest, and pushing him away. "Quinn and I are not exactly what you would call friends. We barely speak, so don't expect miracles, okay?"

"All I'm asking is that you try," Sam said, still smiling widely. "Are you going to do it today?"

"Don't rush me," Rachel instructed. "If I bring it up without it seeming natural, it'll look suspicious; it'll look like you asked me to do it, which you are, but you don't want her to know that."

"Karofsky's coming," Kurt mumbled to them as he hurriedly walked by.

"Let's get out of the hallway," Rachel said, grabbing Sam's arm, and pulling him toward the choir room.

Both of them had managed not to get a slushy thrown in their face this week so far and she wanted to keep it that way. Even though Karofsky was not one of the more popular students at McKinley, he was the worst offender for throwing the ice-cold drink in their faces. She didn't know why he hated everyone in Glee Club so much, but he even once dared to throw one in Santana's face. She had no idea what the Cheerio did to him, but he was absent from school for the next week; as far as she knew, Santana had never gotten in trouble, which probably meant it was something that was too embarrassing for him to come forward about. After that, he didn't dare mess with her or any of her friends; instead, he doubled his efforts to torture the less popular members of New Directions.

"He didn't see us, did he?" Sam asked, peeking through the window of the choir room door.

"I don't think so," Rachel said, walking over, and sitting down on the piano bench. "We may want to wait a minute before going back out, though."

"Hey, do you want to help me babysit tonight?" Sam asked, looking over his shoulder at her. "Stacey keeps asking if you'll come over and teach her to bake those cookies."

Rachel smiled. "I have dance class after school, but I can come around six."

"Cool," Sam said with a nod.

Rachel phone buzzed, so she pulled it out of her bag and looked at the screen. "I think we're safe."

"What?" Sam asked as he continued to stare out the window.

"Kurt just sent me a text message," Rachel replied. "He got Mercedes."

"She's not gonna be happy," Sam said, shaking his head. "One of these days I really hope someone throws one of those in Karofsky's face so he can see how it feels."

"I wouldn't count on it," Rachel remarked.

"No, but I can dream," Sam said, smiling as he opened the door.

"We can all dream," Rachel said, smiling back.

* * *

Rachel paused for a moment as she walked into her physics class; she was sort of hoping Quinn wouldn't be there yet, but the blonde was sitting at their usual table. She'd fully expected Quinn to find a different seat once she learned the rules of the school, but she never moved and still continued to converse with Rachel. Rachel didn't know how to bring Sam up and have it seem natural; from the moment her friend had asked her about it, she'd been trying to think of a conversation starter. It wasn't working, though, and she came to the conclusion that she was going to have to play it by ear. She was hoping Quinn would come in right before the final bell, so she would have more time to think about how she was going to do this, but those hopes were dashed. As she told Sam, though, she couldn't rush this. She didn't want him to seem desperate—though she was beginning to think he was—so if it didn't work out today, he would just have to wait until the perfect time presented itself.

"Hello, Quinn," she said as she passed by the table, heading to her seat.

"Hi," Quinn replied, giving her a slight smile.

"Are you happy the week is half over?" Rachel asked, sitting down on her stool.

Quinn shrugged. "Yes and no. I mean, no one really likes to be at school, but there isn't a lot to do in this town, or at least nothing I've found yet. Maybe there are things I don't know about, though."

"You have probably seen it all," Rachel said, laughing lightly. "You're right about there not being a lot to do here."

"What do you do for fun?" Quinn asked.

"I take a lot of classes—dance and voice—and I get together with my friends some," Rachel said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"No one cares about those loser friends of yours, Berry," Santana said, surprising Rachel since she had no idea the Cheerio was around. "Speaking of which, how's Wheezy? I thought that hideous eyesore she was wearing would look better if were purple, and Karofsky was nice enough to help out with it." Santana looked at her and sneered. "Though, I think it would improve yours much more. I don't understand how someone hasn't gone into your house and burned all your clothes. They would really be doing the world a favor."

"Santana, I think Brittany's waiting on you," Quinn said evenly.

Santana looked over her shoulder and then looked back to Rachel. "Next time I'll be sure to tell Karofsky to improve your hideous sweater. Do you prefer purple or red?"

Rachel didn't say anything as Santana smirked at her before turning on her heel and heading over to Brittany. She shook her head and yanked her notebook out of her bag, roughly tossing it onto the table. She was used to Santana's antics, but she was really getting tired of them. She had never done anything to the other girl, but it seemed to be her mission in life to make Rachel as miserable as possible.

"Are you okay?" Quinn asked.

"I'm fine," Rachel lied.

"Is she always like that?" Quinn asked. "She isn't exactly nice to me, but—is she always like that to you?"

"Ever since we met," Rachel replied.

"What did she mean by the whole color thing?" Quinn asked.

"It's nothing," Rachel said, shaking her head. "She's just being Santana."

Quinn nodded, but she didn't look very convinced. Apparently she had yet to witness anyone being slushied, but Rachel knew it was only a matter of time considering it was nearly an everyday occurrence. She felt bad for Mercedes, but she hoped that it meant she would be safe for the day. They had been known to strike more than once in a day, but it was rare, and when they did, it was usually a mass attack where they got several of them at once.

"Is there a reason she doesn't like you?" Quinn eventually asked.

Rachel shrugged. "You'll have to ask her, but I'm pretty sure it was hate at first sight. She's Santana, though; I doubt she has any reason for hating anyone. That's just how she is and we have all learned to accept it."

She thought about adding the part where she thought Santana was soulless, but in the off chance she decided to tell the Cheerio, she decided against it. If Santana disliked her this much for no reason, she had no idea what the other girl would do if she actually said or did something and gave her a reason. She had seen what she'd done when one of the football team dared to call Brittany stupid and it wasn't pretty. As much as Rachel wanted to stand up for herself, she also knew what Santana was like when she was truly angry. She knew Santana would never touch her—she was too smart to get in a physical confrontation with her—but her words could hurt just as much as her fists.

"What are you doing tonight?" Quinn asked, apparently deciding to change the subject to a more neutral topic.

Rachel sat up straighter, realizing this was her chance to mention Sam and have it seem perfectly natural. "Oh, I'm going to my friend, Sa—"

"Pop quiz time," their teacher said as he walked in, interrupting Rachel mid word.

Rachel sighed and slumped down on her stool as Quinn gave her a halfhearted smile. She knew Quinn was probably giving her that smile because of the pop quiz, but Rachel was more upset about their conversation being interrupted. It meant she was just going to have to find another way to bring it up and hopefully soon. She knew Sam well; he was never going to let it go, so the sooner she got it over with, the better.

* * *

By the time Rachel walked into the choir room after school, she was ready to get out of the building. Between looking over her shoulder every time she walked through the hall and Sam's constant pestering, it had been a very long day. She was the first one in the room, which was surprising because Sam's last class was next door and he usually beat her to the room.

She was about to send him a test message and ask if everything was okay when she heard him say, "Hey."

"There you are," Rachel said, turning around to look at him, and make sure he was still wearing the same clothes as earlier. "I thought maybe one of the goons on the football team had gotten to you."

"Nah, I just needed to grab something from my locker," Sam replied, holding up a key.

Rachel frowned. "What's that?"

"A key," Sam replied.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You know that's not what I meant; what is it to?"

"Mr. Schue gave it to me, so my guitar didn't go missing or get destroyed again," Sam said, walking to the cabinet on the other side of the room. "He told me I could put my guitar in here and gave me a key."

"That was very nice of him," Rachel commented.

"I think he was more worried about me complaining to Figgins than he was about my guitar," Sam replied.

"Yes, I suppose he would have to investigate who did it and would have to punish the culprits if he were to discover who was responsible," Rachel stated.

"Couldn't you just say they'd get in trouble?" Sam asked with a laugh.

"There is nothing wrong with the way I speak," Rachel said, crossing her arms.

"There's everything wrong with the way you talk," Santana said, coming into the room. "And the way you dress and the way you walk and the way you dance and—"

"I get it, Santana!" Rachel snapped.

"Are we feeling feisty today?" Santana asked, smirking.

Rachel wondered for a moment where Brittany was; the blonde usually kept Santana moderately civil—or as civil as Santana could be—and usually kept the brunette from completely lashing out.

"Nice shirt, Aretha," Santana said, her smirk growing.

Mercedes narrowed her eyes at the Cheerio as she walked by and said, "There is going to be a special place in hell for you."

Santana laughed. "I look forward to it. I'll probably be running the place within a week."

"What will you be running?" Brittany asked as she walked in.

"Nothing, B," Santana replied, glaring at the other four in the room as if she was daring them to say anything.

Rachel stood by Sam as he unlocked the cabinet and pulled his guitar out; she didn't know what he was planning on performing today, so she was a little curious. He usually wanted her help on songs—he was always worried about his song choice since he mostly listened to country—but he hadn't done that this time.

Tina, Kurt, and Blaine walked in next; following directly behind them were Puck and Finn, and the former had a smirk on his face. Rachel wondered what he was up to, and the moment Kurt turned to sit in his seat, she saw it. She tried to discreetly get his attention, but it was Blaine who noticed her first, so she pointed to his boyfriend, hoping he would get the hint. He nudged the other boy and nodded to Rachel, who started motioning toward her back. Kurt frowned at her, clearly not understanding, so she motioned again and mouthed 'your back'. Kurt was still frowning, but Blaine leaned back and removed the piece of paper that had been stuck to his shirt.

"Real mature," Kurt said loudly, grabbing the paper out of Blaine's hand, and wadding it up into a ball. "Maybe next time you can ask someone how to spell the words correctly; I'm sure anyone above age five could help you with it."

"What was that?" Puck asked, standing up, and towering over Kurt.

"He didn't say anything," Blaine said, wrapping a protective arm around Kurt's shoulders.

Rachel watched as Mike walked in; he paused for a moment, looking at the scene in the room, and then walked the rest of the way in. She noticed the way his eyes lingered on Tina, but the other girl didn't seem to notice—no one ever seemed to notice. Rachel did, though; she had been noticing it ever since Tina and Artie broke up the previous year. Mike was on the football team, though, and Tina was one of the unpopular kids. Rachel just wished he wouldn't let that stop him and would finally ask her on a date.

"What are you staring at?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," Rachel said, clearing her throat. "What song are you going to sing today?"

"It's a surprise," Sam said, smiling widely. "I think you'll like it."

"I—"

"Dude, I have an idea," Sam said, turning to Rachel, beaming at her.

"What idea?" Rachel warily asked.

"Forget mentioning me to Quinn," Sam said. "I have a totally better idea."

"You still haven't told me your idea," Rachel said.

"We get Quinn to join Glee," Sam said, looking very proud of himself. "There's only, like, a dozen people in here, so she'd have to notice me, right? And if she joined, I think I'd seriously have a shot with her because she would see how talented I am. Girls like guys that sing and play guitar."

"I don't know, Sam," Rachel said, looking away. "Do you even know if she can sing?"

"Sugar can't and she's here," Sam argued, shrugging. "I really think it'll work. Her friends are already in here, so why wouldn't she join? You could just mention it one day and see if she'll check it out. Once she's here, she'll see how much fun it can be and want to come back. It's perfect!"

Rachel sighed, knowing there was no point in trying to get her friend to change his mind; once he got an idea, he usually ran with it and rarely listened to her. At least talking about Glee seemed more natural, though; Quinn already knew she was in the club, so she could easily mention it to her one day, and they could always use more members since people randomly quit all the time. They usually came back quickly, but in case someone decided to leave permanently, they would be one less person down.

"Okay," Rachel finally replied.

"Okay?" Sam asked.

Rachel nodded. "Okay."

"Awesome," Sam said, putting his hand up for a high-five.

* * *

"Rachel!"

Before the brunette could even respond, Sam's little sister had her arms wrapped around Rachel's waist. Rachel chuckled, ruffling Stacey's hair, and guided them back into the house. Rachel hung her bag on a hook in the entryway and held onto the other bag that held what she would need to teach the girl how to make her vegan chocolate chip cookies. The last time she was there she had brought a few with her, and the little girl loved them so much that she wanted to learn how to make them, which Rachel had agreed to.

"You're late," she said, looking up at Rachel.

"I'm sorry," Rachel apologized. "Stopping by the store took longer than I had anticipated, but I needed to get everything to make the cookies. You want to learn how to make them, don't you?"

"Yes!" she said cheerfully.

"Good," Rachel said, smiling down out her. "Can you set this bag in the kitchen?"

"Okay," Stacey said, taking the bag from her.

"Where's your brother?" Rachel asked.

"Sammy's in his room," she answered.

"I'll be right back," Rachel called after her as she headed for Sam's room.

Rachel knocked on the door; Sam shared the bedroom with his little brother, Stevie, and there were pictures of superheroes all over the door. Rachel didn't know if those belonged to Sam or his brother, though. She wouldn't be surprised if Sam had been the one to put them there; he was very into comic books, which Rachel usually teased him about, though she really didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

"Hey," Sam said upon opening the door and seeing her.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to help us bake cookies," Rachel said.

Sam's nose scrunched up. "I'm pretty sure I'd burn the house down."

"I sincerely doubt you would be that bad," Rachel replied.

"I am," Sam laughed, "but I'll watch you. I need to work on homework anyway."

"Do you need any help?" Rachel asked.

Sam shrugged and grabbed his book. "I'll let you know if I do."

Rachel nodded and the two walked to the kitchen together. The house was small, and Sam and his family had only lived in it for about six months. Sam's father had lost his job and the whole family had to move into a hotel room for several months, so the house seemed large in comparison. His family wasn't nearly as well off as when they first moved to Lima, but at least they were making ends meet now. Rachel's father had been the one to help by recommending Sam's father for a job at a factory a little bit outside of town. It wasn't nearly as lucrative as his previous job, but with Sam's mom also working, they were able to rent a house and keep food on the table. Because of their work schedules, though, Sam had to do a lot of babysitting, but he didn't seem to mind.

"What do you think of I've Just Seen A Face?" Sam asked as Rachel grabbed for the plastic bag.

"What?" Rachel asked, confused.

"The Beatles song," Sam clarified. "You know, for when you get Quinn to come. I've been thinking about what song to sing"

"Oh," Rachel said, beginning to pull things out of the bag and place them on the counter. "I don't know if I know the song."

"Dude, it's in that movie you made me watch," Sam said, shaking his head. "The one where they sing all the Beatles songs."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "If I remember correctly, I didn't make you watch anything. You brought it over because you had a crush on Evan Rachel Wood and didn't know it was a musical."

"Oh yeah," Sam said, furrowing his brows. "Whatever. What do you think of the song?"

"Well, I have no idea what Quinn's musical taste is, so it's hard to say," Rachel said, shrugging. "Though if I had to guess, I would say you might want to pick something a little more contemporary since that's what most teenagers like, correct?"

"Are we making cookies?" Stacey asked, pulling on Rachel's hand.

"Yes, can you get the measuring cups and spoons?" Rachel asked since she didn't know where they were.

"So what do you suggest?" Sam asked.

"If you want to impress her, you should probably pick a song you think she would like," Rachel said, shrugging. "I know I would like it if a guy sung one of my favorite songs to me."

"Is that a hint?" Sam asked with a smile.

"Yes, Sam, you know me too well," Rachel deadpanned, pushing her friend's shoulder.

"I can't find the cups," Stacey announced.

"They're in the next drawer," Sam instructed before turning back to Rachel. "So you think I should sing something newer?"

"I think you should figure out what type of music she likes and go from there," Rachel replied.

"How do I do that?" Sam asked.

"Do I have to help you with everything?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," Sam replied.

Rachel laughed. "I don't know, Sam; I would suggest asking her friends, but her friends seem to be Brittany and Santana, so that's out."

Sam emphatically shook his head. "Yeah, Santana hates me, and I'm pretty sure she'd murder me if she ever saw me talking to Brittany."

"I think that's a bit of an exaggeration," Rachel replied.

"No, it's not," Sam said. "She told me if I ever talked to Brittany again she would murder me in my sleep and make it look like an accident."

"While Santana isn't exactly known for her kindness, that's a bit extreme," Rachel commented, but then she looked as Sam's face and narrowed her eyes. "What did you do to make her threaten you like that?"

"I might have asked Brittany out when I first came to McKinley," Sam confessed.

"Well, no wonder she hates you," Rachel said, huffing.

"I didn't know they were—whatever they are!" Sam replied.

"What are they?" Stacey asked.

"Nothing," Sam said, pushing her toward the backdoor. "Go tell Stevie to come inside."

"Did Santana turn the football team against you?" Rachel asked. "Is that the reason they harassed you so much?"

"Partly," Sam said, shrugging.

"I've been blaming myself for that, Samuel Evans!" Rachel said, throwing her hands up.

"What? Why?" Sam asked. "I told you last year it wasn't your fault."

"Yes, but I thought it was because you stood up for me," Rachel replied.

"Well, yeah, that didn't help, but it had more to do with the Brittany thing," Sam said. "I'm sorry; I didn't know you blamed yourself or anything. I just never said anything because it was sort of embarrassing."

Rachel took a deep, calming breath. "Okay, I'm over it."

She wasn't happy she had lived with that guilt for the past year, but at least she could let it go now. As Stacey walked back in with her brother, Rachel beckoned the little girl over.

"Alright, let's teach you to make cookies," Rachel said, grabbing the bag of flour she had purchased. "You sure you don't want to help, Sam?"

Sam shook his head. "Nah, remember what happened last time?"

Rachel laughed as she remembered what a mess the kitchen had been when he did try to help. "You have a very good point."

Stacey giggled and Rachel smiled down at her. Rachel was glad she and Sam had become friends; not only did she get a best friend, but she essentially got the little brother and sister she'd always wanted.

"So, how long 'til those cookies are done?" Sam asked grinning.

Rachel rolled her eyes and pointed her spoon at him. "Just for that, you're not getting any."

* * *

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


	3. A Stroke of Luck

**Jules-Day: Yeah, he's pretty pathetic.**

**Guest: It will be updated two weeks then off a week, always on Thursdays. The actual schedule can be found on my tumblr.**

* * *

**Chapter 3 – A Stroke of Luck**

As Rachel walked toward the table she shared with Quinn, she tried to think of what to say. Sam had been bugging her for two days to invite the blonde to Glee and she was going to try to do it today to get him to shut up. She loved Sam, but he could be annoyingly persistent sometimes. She couldn't really say anything about it, though, because she was the exact same way; once she set her mind on something, she usually didn't give up until it was done. She just wished Sam was the one doing this."

"Hello, Quinn," Rachel said, walking by.

"Hi," Quinn said, smiling at her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Santana mocking her; she tried to ignore it and turned slightly so she couldn't see the Cheerio, but it was hard to ignore. Eventually, she noticed Brittany nudge the other girl and Santana stopped. Rachel would make a joke about Santana being whipped if she didn't want to suffer even more of Santana's wrath.

"I'm so happy it's Friday," Rachel commented.

"Me too," Quinn agreed.

"Are you doing anything fun this weekend?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know," Quinn said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, just six classes between now and the weekend," Rachel remarked. "Well, six classes and then I have Glee Club after school, but that's usually fun, whereas classes are more like a chore."

"Are you doing anything this weekend?" Quinn asked before Rachel could ask her about joining them that afternoon.

"Oh—not really," Rachel answered.

"I was thinking that maybe you could come over," Quinn said. "We have that project coming up in two weeks, and I thought maybe we could do it this weekend. I mean, if you don't have anything else to do this weekend. I was just wondering because my sister is coming next weekend, so I thought we could do it early instead of rushing to do it during the week."

"No—I mean, yeah—that would be okay," Rachel replied.

"Does Sunday work?" Quinn asked. "I think my mom and dad might have something planned tomorrow, but I'm free after church on Sunday."

"Sunday's good," Rachel said. "Umm—your house or mine?"

"How about mine?" Quinn suggested. "We have a big backyard, so if whatever we're doing gets messy, we can take it outside."

Rachel nodded. "That's fine."

"Here is my number," Quinn pulled a piece of paper out of her notebook and began writing on it, "and my address. If you need help finding it, just call and I'll give you directions, okay."

"Okay," Rachel said, taking the piece of paper from her.

She had no idea how she just got invited to Quinn's house; she didn't know if Sam was going to be happy that she was getting to know the blonde more or sad that she, once again, didn't invite her to join them for Glee. It would be nice to get their physics project done early, though; she also had something planned for the next weekend, so this would make everything easier. She was just surprised by it, but that was probably because she had ended up completing nearly every school project, so it was nice to have a partner that actually wanted to work on it.

As she slipped the piece of paper into her bag, she smiled. She couldn't wait to see the look on Sam's face when he saw she had Quinn's phone number. Not that she would give it to him—that would just be weird and an invasion of privacy—but because of how annoying he'd been lately, she was going to tease him with it a little bit.

* * *

"I still can't believe you didn't invite her," Sam mumbled as Quinn walked past them.

"If you want to invite her so badly, she's right there," Rachel said, motioning to the retreating blonde.

"That wouldn't be at all weird," Sam sarcastically said. "How would you react if some random guy came up to you and asked if you wanted to join the show choir?"

"I would be thrilled, actually," Rachel answered.

"That's because you're weird," Sam replied.

"Enjoying singing and dancing is not being weird," Rachel stated. "By that definition, you would also be considered weird." Rachel paused. "On second thought—"

"Very funny," Sam said, rolling his eyes at her, but he was smiling nonetheless. "I just don't want her to think I'm a big dork or something."

"She's not going to think you're a big dork," Rachel said, sighing.

"You're right, and that's because you're going to invite her, not me," Sam said, smiling at her.

"Do you even want to know why I didn't get the chance to invite her?" Rachel asked.

She had been waiting for him to ask all day—she'd really expected it to be the first question out of his mouth—but he still hadn't, so she was just going to bring it up herself.

Sam shrugged. "You chickened out?"

Rachel scoffed. "I'll have you know, I didn't chicken out. And you're one to talk; you won't even talk to her."

"Okay, fine—why didn't you ask her?" Sam asked.

"Well, I tried," Rachel said, pulling her bag around to reach in it. "I had just mentioned Glee and I was about to ask her when she asked what I was doing this weekend." Rachel pulled out the piece of paper. "She gave me her phone number and address because I'm going to her house on Sunday to get an early start on our physics project."

"No way!" Sam said, his eyes widening. "Can I see that?"

"No," Rachel said, pulling it out of his grasp.

"Come on," Sam whined.

"Even if I gave you her number, what would you do with it?" Rachel asked. "You won't even speak to her when you're at school together, so do you really think you would ever call her?"

Sam's face fell. "Probably not. This might be good, though. You'll get to know her better and maybe you can even find out what type of music she doesn't like for when she finally comes. This is great, actually! You can find out what she's like and let me know."

"I'm not going to spy on her!" Rachel said.

"Who are we spying on?" Tina asked, coming up beside them.

"No one," Rachel said pointedly.

"Are you spying on the new girl?" Tina asked Sam.

"No," Sam replied.

"He's just trying to get me to," Rachel remarked.

"It's not spying exactly," Sam argued. "I just want Rachel to find out what she likes and stuff."

"I think that's spying, Sam," Tina said, laughing.

Sam scowled. "We're going to be late."

Rachel and Tina laughed, and the latter said, "Since when are you worried about being late?"

"He's not," Rachel replied. "Sam just wants out of this conversation."

"Look, I'm—"

Sam was cut off with a splash, and before Rachel knew what was happening, she felt the sting of an icy drink hitting her in the face. She heard Tina let out a little shriek and knew all of three of them must have been hit.

"Oh, sorry; I hope that doesn't make you late for your little gay club," she heard Karofsky say followed by what sounded like high-fives.

* * *

Rachel thought she would eventually get used to being hit in the face with a slushy, but every time was just as bad as the last. Everyone thought it was so funny, but most people didn't seem to realize—or didn't care—how much it hurt. The initial hit was like a punch to the stomach and always made her lose her breath. Then the liquid would slowly soak into her clothes, chilling her to the core. Not to mention the humiliation of it all; they always seemed to do it when the hallways were full, and Rachel could only assume it was to maximize the embarrassment of the situation.

She heard Sam sputtering next to her and put one hand on his arm as she wiped at her face with the other. "Let's get cleaned up."

"I don't have any clothes with me," Tina said. "I forgot to bring some to replace the ones from yesterday."

"I have more than one spare in my locker," Rachel replied.

She turned on her heel, trying not to slip on the mess that covered the floor, and walked back to her locker. She kept three sets of clothes in there for this very occasion, and because once during her sophomore year they managed to get her three times in one day. At the time she only brought two changes of clothes and had to walk around half the day in a red strained dress.

"I'll be right back," Sam said as he walked past to go to his locker.

Rachel quickly entered her combination and opened her locker. Not only was she eager to get out of these clothes as fast as possible, but they were going to be late for Glee, and she wanted to minimize the amount of time they were tardy.

As she grabbed her bag of clothing, she looked down the hall, toward the bathroom, and locked eyes with Quinn. Rachel wondered how much the blonde saw, but judging by the look of concern on her face, Rachel assumed she saw the whole thing.

"Are you going to go?" Sam asked.

Rachel hummed and looked over her shoulder; Sam and Tina were both looking at her. "Yes, sorry."

She shut her locker and walked to the nearest bathroom. Once inside, she and Tina checked the stalls to make sure no one was in them, and then Rachel walked to the door to let Sam know the bathroom was clear and he could come inside.

Rachel was staring up as Quinn's house as she had been for several minutes. Her house was nice, but Quinn's house was even nicer and definitely larger. Her family was clearly wealthy and Rachel wondered what Quinn's father did for a living that brought them to Lima.

She cleared her throat and quit gawking long enough to walk the rest of the way up to the house and ring the bell. She half expected a butler to greet her, but when the door opened, a woman was standing on the other side. Rachel guessed she was Quinn's mom; she had the same blonde hair and looked like a middle-aged version of Quinn.

"You must be Rachel," the woman said, smiling at her. "I'm Judy Fabray."

"Hello, Mrs. Fabray," Rachel said, smiling back.

"Please, call me Judy," she said, ushering Rachel into the house. "Quinn is in her—"

"I'm here," Quinn called out as she walked toward them. "Sorry, I didn't hear the doorbell. Hey, Rachel"

"Hello, Quinn," the brunette said, giving the younger Fabray a smile.

"What's all that?" Quinn asked, nodding to the bag in Rachel's hands.

Rachel followed her gaze, looking down at her hands. "Oh, well—I hope you don't mind, but I took it upon myself to look online for something that would demonstrate a principle in physics as Mr. Jacobson instructed, and then I went to the store this morning and purchased the materials we would need. If you would prefer to do something else, though, it is all returnable, so don't hesitate to let me know."

Judy smiled and looked at Quinn as she said, "I like her."

Rachel heard the door open and close behind her and a man say, "Sorry I'm late. Who is this?"

"My physics partner, Daddy," Quinn answered.

"Oh, right—I knew that," he said with a laugh.

"This is Rachel," Quinn introduced.

"Call me Russell," Quinn's father said. "Say, what's your last name?"

"Berry," Rachel answered.

"I don't think I've met any Berrys yet," Russell said. "What do your parents do?"

Rachel cleared her throat nervously. It was common knowledge that she had two fathers, but she was always a little apprehensive of telling people she had just met. She never knew when people were going to have a less than positive reaction. She wasn't ashamed of her family, though, and she wasn't going to lie about them.

"My father, Leroy is a pharmacist," Rachel cleared her throat again, "and my other father, Hiram, teaches philosophy at the local college."

She caught Quinn's eye and wondered what the blonde was thinking, but her face was unreadable.

"Oh, well, I'll be sure to keep an eye out for them," Russell said, giving her a smile.

"Would you like anything to drink before you and Quinnie get started?" Judy asked.

"No thank you," Rachel replied.

"Come on," Quinn said. "Let's go to my room; you can show me this project you found."

"I think you'll like it," Rachel commented as she followed her up the stairs. "It looks like it will be fun but not overly difficult or time consuming."

* * *

"Can I ask you something?"

Rachel looked up and shrugged. "Sure."

"What the hell was that Friday?" Quinn asked.

"Are you asking about what happened in the hallway at school?" Rachel asked.

Quinn nodded. "Yeah."

"He just walked up to you and threw a drink at you," Quinn said, sounding a bit incredulous.

"It was a slushy," Rachel informed. "And that wasn't the first time that has happened and, although I wish it were the case, I doubt it will be the last time."

"That's happened to you before?" Quinn asked.

"Usually at least twice a week," Rachel replied. "I seem to be Karofsky's favorite target."

"And no one does anything about it?" Quinn said.

"I have gone to Principal Figgins on more than one occasion about it, but he usually says he has more important things to contend with," Rachel replied.

Quinn scoffed. "Why do none of the teachers do anything?"

"I presume it's because they are all afraid of Coach Sylvester," Rachel commented. "She's the cheerleading coach and no one wants to get her cheerleaders in trouble because they would have to deal with her. They're usually the reason for the slushies, though not the entire reason; I do believe the football team gets way too much enjoyment out of carrying out the act, so sometimes they simply do it for their own pleasure."

"That's crazy," Quinn said, shaking her head.

"I'll agree that it is completely unfair, and in any other school, it would not be tolerated," Rachel stated. "With the way McKinley is, though, I'm surprised something even worse hasn't happened. The school is completely divided into the popular students—the cheerleaders and football players being at the top—and the unpopular students."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Quinn said.

"Because of our position in Glee Club, my friends and I are the prime targets," Rachel continued. "The members of the football team seem to think that being in a club where you sing and dance automatically equates with you being gay, and being as close-minded as they are, they have a problem with that."

"I don't understand," Quinn said, furrowing her brows. "Isn't Puck and Santana and Brittany and all their friends in there with you?"

"They are," Rachel replied.

"So—why don't they get treated the same way you and your friends do?" Quinn asked.

"Because they were popular to begin with," Rachel answered. "Don't get me wrong, when they first joined they got a bit of harassment from the football players, but most of them are too afraid of Noah and Santana to really do anything. Santana did get a slushy thrown in her face one time, but it never happened again; I strongly suspect she did something to him." Rachel sighed. "The Glee Club is divided just like the rest of the school. We may all sing and dance together, but we don't intermingle unless we're on stage."

"Why did they even join in the first place if people look down on it so much?" Quinn asked.

"Finn was the first to join," Rachel said. "I don't actually know why, but it had something to do with Mr. Schue, our show choir director. I assume Noah joined because he and Finn are best friends. I think Brittany joined because she really seems to love to dance, and where she goes, Santana goes. Mike and another football player, Matt, joined because—well, it's a long story, but we helped the football team with something, and they both seemed to enjoy it, so they stayed around. Matt transferred schools before our junior year, though, so you don't know him."

"I still can't believe no one does anything about it," Quinn said, shaking her head.

"I know," Rachel replied. "I think I'm sort of used to the way things are now, though; obviously I don't like it, but I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't have to get used to that," Quinn said softly.

"I know," Rachel whispered, sighing.

She knew it wasn't fair, but she had accepted long ago that this is how things were going to be while she was still in high school. It made her all the more determined to get out Lima, though, and move to New York City. Part of the reason she was so determined to make it was because she wanted to be able to show everyone that their words and actions couldn't bring her down.

* * *

"This is a little more time consuming than I anticipated," Rachel commented, looking at what they had done so far and how much they still had to do.

"Maybe we should take a break," Quinn suggested. "We have been doing this for several hours, and I don't know about you, but I'm getting a little tired."

"That's probably a good idea," Rachel agreed. "Maybe if we take a break it will refresh our minds and make us more productive."

Quinn laughed lightly. "I'm going down to the kitchen; do you want anything?

"A water would be lovely," Rachel replied.

"I'll be right back," Quinn said, standing.

Rachel stood as well and watched Quinn leave the room. She stretched her arms over head and looked to her left as a light caught her eyes. She reached down, grabbing her phone, and saw that Sam was calling her. She wondered how many times he'd tried calling; she put her phone on silence so she and Quinn could work in peace.

"Hello, Sam," Rachel said as she answered her phone.

"Dude, I've been calling you for, like, thirty minutes," Sam said in lieu of a greeting.

"I told you that Quinn and I were going to be working on our physics project for most of the day," Rachel said, rolling her eyes at him even though he wasn't in the room to see it.

"I know," Sam stated. "Why do you think I'm calling?"

"Well, I was hoping it would be because you wanted to talk to your best friend and not because you were snooping on what Quinn's house it like," Rachel replied.

"Yeah—how are you?" Sam asked.

Rachel laughed. "Sam, I know you didn't call to check on how I was doing."

"Fine, that's not why I called," Sam replied. "How's the project going, though?"

"It's going okay," Rachel said, sighing. "We've had a few problems, but we're working through it, and I think we'll be done by the end of the day."

"Cool," Sam replied.

"We're taking a short break now to recharge," Rachel continued. "She's downstairs at the moment, presumably getting snacks."

"Where are you?" Sam asked.

"Her bedroom," Rachel answered.

"What's it like?" Sam asked, sounding way too excited.

"Samuel Evans, I am not going to invade her privacy by telling you what her bedroom is like," Rachel said, huffing. "I am ashamed that you would ask that and slightly appalled that you actually thought I would answer such a question." Rachel paused and listened to footsteps coming up the stairs. "She's coming back; I have to go. And, Sam, my phone is going to be on silent so don't call me. I'll call you as soon as I get home to let you know I'm done."

Rachel hung up the phone just as Quinn came through the door.

"Were you on the phone or talking to yourself?" Quinn asked, but Rachel assumed by her smile that she was joking.

"Apparently my best friend has been calling me for the past thirty minutes," Rachel said. "I don't know why, though; I told Sam I was going to be here today, and he knows me well enough to know I would turn my phone off as to not be interrupted."

"Sam—is that the blonde guy I see you with?" Quinn asked, handing Rachel a bottle of water.

"Sam Evans," Rachel said, nodding. "Yes, that's him. He's a junior; he transferred to McKinley last year and we became friends after he joined Glee. He was on the football team, but because of a few incidents, one of which involved him helping me, he decided to give it up. He's really sweet—and talented, too; he can sing and play the guitar. His dancing could use a little work, though." Rachel laughed lightly and looked down at the bottle in her hand. "Thank you for the water, by the way."

Quinn smiled. "You're welcome."

"So, would you like to continue taking a break or get back to work?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shrugged. "We should probably get back to work. Who knows how long this is going to take."

"I know," Rachel said, frowning. "I think I picked the wrong project."

"It's fine," Quinn said, smiling softly.

"I will not blame you if you would like to choose a different partner next time," Rachel commented.

"Maybe I can just be the one to pick the project," Quinn replied.

Rachel smiled. "That also works."

* * *

"Sam, what are you doing here?" Rachel asked, stopping in her tracks when she saw the blonde headed boy sitting on her stoop.

Sam shrugged. "I was bored."

"How long have you been sitting outside my door?" Rachel asked.

"Not long," Sam replied. "Maybe an hour."

"Sam, I told you I would call you as soon as I got home," Rachel said, shaking her head.

"I know, but I was bored and didn't feel like waiting at home," Sam replied. "Plus, I thought your dads would be home and I could just hang with them until you got home."

"They were spending the day in Columbus," Rachel told him. "They have tickets to some show tonight, so they decided to go early and do some shopping and stuff."

"Oh," Sam said, looking a little sheepish. "So, how did it go today?"

"I'm actually surprised you managed to wait a whole minute to ask me," Rachel said, laughing.

Sam smiled. "I didn't think you'd be happy if it was the first thing out of my mouth."

"You're right," Rachel said, unlocking the door, and opening it.

"Seriously, though—how'd it go?" Sam asked, following her into the house.

"It went fairly well," Rachel replied. "After we took a break and went back to working on the project, we finally realized why it wasn't working, so we were able to fix it. The rest of it went much quicker and we managed to get it done." She looked at Sam. "But that's not what you're asking about, is it?"

"It's not like I don't care that you guys do good on your project," Sam replied.

Rachel smiled. "But—"

"But—did you invite her to Glee?" Sam asked, smiling widely.

"No, Sam, I did not," Rachel replied. "But at least she knows who you are now."

"She knows who I am?" Sam said, looking hopeful.

"She overheard us talking on the phone, so I explained to her that I was talking to you," Rachel replied. "Then I not so subtly told her a little bit about you."

"What did you tell her?" Sam asked excitedly.

"That you are a junior and you came to McKinley last year," Rachel recalled. "And that you are in Glee and used to be on the football team, but you decided to be all heroic and save me, which resulted in you quitting the team."

"Did you tell her I can sing?" Sam asked.

"I did," Rachel said with a nod.

"You're the best," Sam said, pulling Rachel into a tight hug. "I'm going to totally owe you."

"And I am going to remind you one day that you said that," Rachel said, laughing as she hugged him back.

* * *

**Thoughts? Questions? Reviews are always appreciated.**


	4. Halloween

**nikq: Yes, the Fabrays will not be complete assholes in this story.**

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Halloween**

Rachel sighed. "Sam, will you stop staring at her."

"I can't help it," Sam replied.

"Yes, you can," Rachel argued. "Just turn your head and look the other way."

"But she's just so—"

Rachel rolled her eyes, tuning out Sam's rant about how amazing and beautiful Quinn Fabray was. She was a patient person, but this was getting a little ridiculous. He would stare at her from afar in the halls, in the cafeteria, anytime they saw her in town—she actually felt like it was bordering on stalking at this point. She was just glad he didn't sit outside her house, watching her while she was in her bedroom—or at least if he was, Rachel wasn't aware of it. She kept trying to get him to talk to Quinn, but he just wouldn't do it. She had no idea why he was being like this; he got rejected by girls he liked all the time, so he really should be used to it. Normally he shrugged it off, but he wouldn't even make an attempt with Quinn.

"—and have you noticed how her eyes change color? It's like sometimes they're green and sometimes they're gold and—"

"Sam," Rachel finally interrupted.

"I know what you're going to say," Sam said, sighing. "You're going to tell me I should go talk to her."

"Yes," Rachel replied.

"I know I should, but I'm just so tired of every girl shooting me down," Sam said, frowning.

Even though she was getting annoyed with him, she did feel bad for him. At any other school Sam would be fighting off girls, but this was McKinley. Sam tended to be more on the superficial side, which meant he really only went for the popular girls—specifically the cheerleaders—but he lost any chance with them when he was deemed unpopular. Even if one of the girls did like him, they would never agree to a date for fear of being ostracized. It was stupid and completely not fair, but it's the way the school was; everyone knew it, but no one ever tried to do anything about it.

"Come on," Rachel said, nudging Sam. "I don't want to be late."

Sam was still staring down the hall at Quinn as he began following Rachel. "We won't be; Mr. Schue's always way later than any of us ever are."

"Dude, don't forget to bring some chips or something," Puck said, knocking into Rachel as he walked by.

"Excuse you," Rachel said, scowling at the back of his head.

"I have an idea!" Sam suddenly said, grabbing her arm to stop her.

"I don't know if I like the sound of this," Rachel said, eyeing him.

"No, it's a great idea!" Sam said, smiling widely, and making Rachel even more concerned. "We should crash Puck's party!"

Rachel couldn't help but laugh at the suggestion. "Tell me you're not serious."

"I'm totally serious," Sam replied. "No, listen. It's Halloween, right? It's gonna be a costume party, so we just have costumes on and no one will know who we are! I can talk to Quinn without her knowing it's me, and then I can show her how awesome I am."

"What does it matter if she has no idea who you are?" Rachel asked.

"She doesn't have to know," Sam said, shaking his head. "If I impress her enough, she'll come looking for me; she'll want to figure out who I am, and then I'll tell her."

"There are so many things that could wrong with this," Rachel replied.

"What could go wrong?" Sam asked. "As long as our faces are covered, no one will know who we are. I've heard about Puck's parties; he has, like, a million people there, so no one will even think twice about us. C'mon, it's not like you have anything better to do tonight."

"What makes you think I have a costume?" Rachel asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"You dressed as Batgirl when you went to that convention with me," Sam reminded her. "It'd be perfect!"

Rachel sighed. "Alright, but I am stating for the record that I think this is going to be a disaster."

* * *

"What if we get caught?" Tina whispered.

"I suppose they could throw slushies in our face or try to stick our heads in the toilet—oh wait, they already do that," Kurt said.

"I'm sure they can think of something worse," Tina replied.

"If they could, they would be doing it already," Kurt argued.

"Guys," Sam interrupted. "It's not too late to go home if you wanna. We're not inside."

"I'm not the one complaining," Kurt pointed out.

"I'm not complaining," Tina replied. "I'm just a little concerned."

"We'll be okay," Sam said, sounding very sure of himself. "No one will know who any of us are."

Rachel wasn't so sure of it, though; she had a feeling they were going to stick out a bit because of their costumes. She didn't know if Kurt's face was covered enough by his Robin costume, but it was the only other costume Sam had and all the shops were sold out of everything. Sam was unrecognizable in his Batman costume, but she had the feeling no one on the football team would ever dress as a superhero. Tina was the odd one out in her vampire costume; she had added a masquerade mask to cover her face, which she'd barrowed from Rachel.

"I don't know," Tina said. "The girls here are dressed a little—slutty." She looked around at the people milling about the lawn. "Even some of the guys."

"So?" Sam asked.

"So, I think we look a little nerdy to really fit in," Tina said.

Rachel nodded. "I have to agree with Tina."

"We can't go back now!" Sam said.

"We're not," Rachel replied. "Well, I'm not."

"I'm staying," Kurt said.

Tina sighed. "I'm staying, too."

"Any sign of trouble and you get out of the house as fast as you can," Rachel instructed. "Make sure you send a text message to everyone else to warn them, and we'll all make our way back to Kurt's vehicle. Now, I think we should definitely split up so we're not quite as obvious. Tina and Kurt, you two should go first."

"I'm dressed as Robin," Kurt stated. "Shouldn't Sam and I stick together?"

"Dude, we'll look like a couple," Sam retorted.

Kurt paused. "I see your point. Come on, Tina."

"How long should we wait?" Sam asked as the other two walked up the sidewalk.

"I think a minute or two would be sufficient," Rachel answered.

"Okay, let's go in," Sam said.

"It's only been ten seconds," Rachel replied.

"So?" Sam asked. "I think it's enough time."

Rachel sighed as Sam began walking to the house; he was far too excited, and when he was excited, he tended to not listen to her. All she could really do was follow him and try to keep him out of trouble.

"Wait!" Rachel hissed as she walked quicker to catch up to him.

He was already at the open door, when she grabbed ahold of his arm, trying to slow him down. Sam looked at her and gave her a crooked smile—the only part of his face she could really see—and then ushered her inside.

The house was packed, which was a good thing for them. It meant someone would be less likely to notice they didn't belong. As she looked around, she was pretty sure not everyone went to McKinley; she didn't recognize nearly half the people in the room. She was starting to wish they had come up with an actual cover story; she wanted to, but no one else thought it was necessary. She would definitely feel a lot better if they had gone with her suggestion and come up with fake names and coordinated saying they'd come from a different school.

"I'm going to see if I can find a beverage that doesn't contain alcohol," Rachel said.

Sam nodded. "I'm gonna look around."

Rachel walked through the house looking for water, but didn't really find anything. It didn't take long for her to start feeling claustrophobic; she usually had no problems with crowds, but there were so many people in the house that she was finding it way too hot and hard to breathe. When she finally made it into the kitchen, she saw the backdoor and decided to step outside for a moment. There were still people in the backyard, but it was quite chilly out, so there wasn't an overabundance of people.

She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to her friends to let them know where she was in case they were looking.

"Nice costume."

Rachel looked up to find Quinn looking at her. "Thank you; I like yours as well."

Quinn shrugged. "It's not actually a costume; I was a cheerleader at my old high school. I wasn't going to come tonight, but a few people talked me into it, so I just pulled it out of my closet."

"Excuse me," Rachel said, hearing the tone that indicated she had a text message.

She pulled the phone out of a little pouch she had attached to her belt and saw that she had a text from Sam. Her heart was suddenly beating a little faster as she opened it, hoping nothing was wrong. Rachel rolled her eyes when all it was just Sam asking everyone if any of them had seen Quinn. She thought about ignoring it, but it was the reason they were there, so she sent him a reply to let him know the blonde was in the backyard.

It only took a few moments before the back door opened and Sam came walking out. Rachel really didn't want to go back into the house, but she figured it would be better if she left Sam and Quinn alone.

"I guess I'll go back inside," Rachel said to Quinn.

She turned, gave her best friend a smile, and walked into the house. If it was at all possible, she thought even more people were in the house than when she walked outside just a couple minutes ago. She walked around for quite a while, trying to avoid having drinks spilled on her or being knocked into. It took her a while to find her friends, but she eventually stood on the stairs to see above everyone, and saw Tina talking to Mike Chang. She almost walked over to them, but Tina was smiling, so Rachel left them alone, hoping her friend would finally notice the boy.

"Interesting," Kurt suddenly said, and she looked to her right to see him leaning against the wall next to her.

Rachel smiled. "Having fun?"

"Not really," Kurt said, sighing. "I wish Blaine would have come with us."

Out of the corner of her eye, Rachel noticed Puck, and looked over to find one of the football team pointing in her direction. He whispered something in Puck's ear, and the other boy turned to look at them, narrowing his eyes.

"We need to go," Rachel said, grabbing Kurt's arm, and pulling him toward the door.

"What's going on?" Kurt asked, trying to pull his arm back.

"I do believe we have been spotted," Rachel replied. "Quick, send Tina and Sam a message."

Luckily for them Puck had been on the other side of the room, so he would have to fight through the crowd to get to them. The moment they were outside, Kurt and Rachel both began sprinting for Kurt's SUV. They had parked around the corner, and Rachel looked over her shoulder as they ran. When they rounded the corner without any sign of Puck, she instantly felt a little safer. Kurt's phone buzzed as they climbed inside and he immediately looked at it.

"Tina's on her way," Kurt stated.

"Good," Rachel breathed out.

They nervously waited for several minutes before Tina finally came into view. She was looking over her shoulder every few seconds and looked nervous.

"I am never doing something like this again," she said as she opened the door, and jumped in the backseat. "Where's Sam?"

"I don't know," Rachel said, furrowing her brows.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the back door opened and all three screamed.

"Dude, my ears," Sam said, wincing.

"What took you so long?" Rachel asked.

"I was talking to Quinn," Sam said, smiling widely.

"Hallelujah," Kurt said, rolling his eyes. "And it only took you a month."

"She's even better than I imagined!" Sam said brightly.

"That's wonderful," Kurt deadpanned. "Can we go?"

"It sucks that we didn't get to stay longer," Sam said with a sigh.

"Well, since we're leaving so early, we could always go to my house and watch some scary movies," Tina suggested.

"That sounds cool," Sam replied.

"Well, I don't have anywhere else to be," Kurt said, shrugging. "Blaine's staying with some of his Warbler friends tonight."

"Rachel?" Tina asked.

Rachel sighed. "I suppose. I don't really enjoy the horror genre, but if everyone else is going, I'm coming too. I would rather not go home, anyway; Dad and Daddy are going to be out late, so it would just be me there."

"Thanks," Sam whispered in her ear as Kurt and Tina began talking about what movies they should watch.

"For what? I didn't really do anything," Rachel replied.

"You did a lot," Sam said. "I think I have it from here, but thanks for all the help."

Rachel smiled. "You're welcome, Sam."

* * *

Rachel was afraid when she walked into school on Monday that Puck would be waiting on her and her friends with slushies in hand, but there was nothing. She hoped that meant that he didn't actually know who was at the party. It shouldn't have been hard to guess, though, since she was obviously not Mercedes, and she and Tina were the only other two girls in Glee that were on the unpopular side.

Santana did scowl at her as she walked by, but that was hardly new; Rachel was pretty sure her face stayed that way unless she was smirking about something. Or when she was looking at Brittany.

Today was actually Halloween, which Rachel always looked forward to and dreaded at the same time. She loved helping her fathers give out candy to the trick or treaters, but her house always ended up vandalized. One year it was eggs, another time their window was broken, and last year they woke up to the whole house being covered in toilet paper. She wasn't going to let the childish antics of her classmates get to her, though; she was going to enjoy the day, and look forward to seeing all the children in their costumes.

When she walked into her physics class, Quinn was already at their table as usual. She didn't understand why the blonde always got there so early, but she was always there before Rachel, who was usually really early herself.

"Hey," Quinn greeted as she sat down.

"Hello," Rachel said back.

"Did you have fun Friday?" Quinn asked.

Rachel's eyes widened for a moment before saying, "It was okay. Why do you ask?"

Quinn laughed lightly. "I know it was you at the party."

"How?" Rachel asked, wondering who else recognized her.

"Your eyes," Quinn said, shrugging.

Rachel sighed. "It was my friend's idea; I didn't want to go, but I didn't want him going alone."

Quinn laughed again. "Don't worry. It's not like I'm going to tell Puck you crashed his party."

"I appreciate that," Rachel said. "I don't think he would be very happy if he knew."

"Probably not," Quinn agreed.

"I'm glad you were the one that recognized me and not someone like Santana," Rachel commented. "She would have told Noah the moment she saw me—or done something about it herself."

"Yeah," Quinn replied. "I mean, I think they're okay, but I don't know if I'd really consider them my friends. Actually, you're a lot nicer to me than they are, so believe me when I say not to worry about me telling them."

"I'm not worried," Rachel said. "I trust you, Quinn."

Quinn laughed. "I think that's the first time anyone's ever said that to me."

"Why?" Rachel asked, frowning.

Quinn shrugged. "So, do you know who the Batman was that I was talking to?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny it," Rachel answered.

"I'm going to take that as a yes," Quinn replied.

"Is there a reason you wish to know?" Rachel wondered.

"Just curious," Quinn replied.

Rachel nodded, wondering if Sam's plan really had worked. Rachel figured if Quinn was wondering who we was, it meant she was interested. Though she could just be a curious person; Rachel would have been wondering too if it was her. Whatever the case, at least Sam had her attention, so the Friday night wasn't a complete waste of time.

* * *

Rachel found herself staring across the room at the football player and Cheerio table. Not a single one of her friends had been slushied so far that day, and it was making her a little nervous. She felt like they were lulling them into a false sense of security by not saying anything about them crashing Puck's party, but maybe Puck really didn't know it was them. Maybe he just thought they were from a different school, and because of their costumes, he might have decided he didn't want them there.

Her eyes drifted from Puck to Quinn, who was sitting between the boy and Brittany as she usually did. Rachel couldn't help but notice over the weeks how everyone at the table talked to Quinn, but she didn't really say much back. She knew it wasn't because the blonde didn't like to talk to people—she talked to Rachel nearly every day in class—but she never really said anything during lunch. Quinn would usually nod, occasionally responding verbally, but the others did most of the talking.

"What are you staring at?" Sam asked, nudging her in the rubs.

"What?" Rachel asked. "Oh, nothing."

"You're staring," Sam stated.

Rachel frowned. "I'm not staring."

"You are," Kurt chimed in.

"I was simply lost in thought; I wasn't staring at anything," Rachel lied.

"Please tell me your crush on Finn isn't back," Kurt said.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "My crush on Finn ended long ago. Over a year ago, actually."

"Then why are you staring at him?" Sam asked.

"I am _not_ staring at Finn Hudson," Rachel replied.

"Are you staring at Puck, then?" Kurt asked. "Because that's even worse, and I do believe I can no longer be friends with you if you're attracted to that Neanderthal."

Rachel scrunched her nose up at the thought. "I definitely do not have a crush on Noah."

"Santana?" Kurt asked.

"No!" Rachel exclaimed. "I do not have a crush on anyone. I told you I wasn't staring; I was lost in thought and just happened to be looking in that direction."

Sam laughed. "Chill. We're just joking."

"I wasn't," Kurt commented.

"Guys, leave Rachel alone," Blaine chimed in. "If she says she wasn't staring at anyone, she wasn't staring at anyone."

"Thank you, Blaine," Rachel said, giving him a smile.

"Whose side are you on?" Kurt asked his boyfriend.

"Everyone's," Blaine replied.

Kurt rolled his eyes as Sam laughed, and asked, "Hey, wanna go to the movies with me tonight?"

"I don't know," Rachel replied. "It's trick or treat night; you know I usually stay home and help my fathers."

"I meant after," Sam said. "Oh, and Stacey made me promise I would ask if you wanted to come with us. My parents have to work, so I have to take them out tonight, and she wants you to come."

"I suppose I can go with you guys instead of handing out candy," Rachel replied. "I'm sure my fathers will understand, and it's not like they can't manage without me."

"Cool," Sam said. "Stacey and Stevie will be happy." Sam let out a laugh. "I swear they like you more than they like me."

"I doubt that is true, but if it is, it's because you're the one who has to tell them what to do," Rachel replied. "I get to come over and have fun with them without that responsibility."

"True," Sam said, shrugging.

"And I'll think about the movie, okay?" Rachel said.

Sam smiled. "Cool."

When Rachel looked back at the popular table, she locked eyes with Quinn, and the blonde immediately looked away. Rachel looked down, blushing as she wondered if Quinn knew she was staring earlier. It wasn't the first time Quinn would have caught her staring; Rachel really needed to work on it, but she often found herself studying the blonde. She just couldn't quite figure her out, and it was slightly frustrating since Rachel prided herself on knowing people.

* * *

"Hey."

Rachel jumped slightly at the sound of Quinn's voice and turned to look at her. "Hello."

"So, I don't think Puck knows it was you at the party," Quinn stated. "He was talking at lunch how a bunch of nerds from another school crashed the party."

Rachel frowned at being called a nerd, but she was happy nonetheless. "Well, that's wonderful. I suppose he doesn't think my friends and I would dare to do it, which is good."

"Why did you do it?" Quinn asked.

"I—" Rachel faltered. "One of my friends simply wanted to see what his parties are like before we graduated. We hear about them, but none of us had actually been to one given our social status. We thought it would be the perfect opportunity since we could wear costumes and hope no one realized who we are."

Quinn nodded and then shrugged. "I don't see what the big deal is. I guess they're fun if you like to get drunk and have a bunch of guys hitting on you, but that's not really my idea of a fun night. Both times I've gone to one of his parties, I've ducked out after less than an hour. Next time I'm just going to decline; it's a waste of a perfectly good night."

"I would have to agree with that," Rachel replied. "I would much rather spend a quiet night at home or with my friends. The whole time I was there I had to dodge nearly being run over, and I almost had more than one drink spilled on me."

"And you definitely wouldn't want that costume ruined," Quinn said with a slight smirk.

Rachel blushed. "It was the only costume I had; Sam and I went to a comic convention this past summer, and I didn't want to be the only one at it not dressed up, so I sort of went all out. I know nothing about comic books, but it was slightly less revealing than Wonder Woman, so I went with it."

"Hey, Rach," Sam said, jogging up to them.

"Hey, Sam," Rachel said, glancing at Quinn. "Oh, I guess I could introduce you two. Sam this is Quinn; Quinn this is Sam, my best friend that I've told you about."

"Hey," Quinn said to him.

Sam smiled widely and nodded. "Hey. We need to go or we're going to be late for Glee."

"Oh my," Rachel said, realizing she'd lost track of time.

"You know, you should join us," Sam said to Quinn. "I'm not saying you have to join or anything, but you could come with us today."

"He's right," Rachel interjected. "You should come. I don't know if you can sing or dance, but we could always use more people."

Quinn's eyebrow rose for a moment, but then she shrugged, and said, "Alright."

"Really?" Sam asked, sounding way too excited.

Quinn laughed lightly. "Yeah."

"Awesome," Sam breathed out. "The choir room's this way."

Sam quickly started talking down the hall and Quinn looked at Rachel with an amused expression. "Is he always this excited?"

"Sometimes," Rachel replied.

They walked into the choir room; everyone else was already there, even Mr. Schue, and people looked surprised to see Quinn in the room.

"Do we have someone new joining us?" Mr. Schue asked.

"This is Quinn; she is just joining us for the day to see what it's like," Rachel answered.

"Well, welcome, and we hope you like it," Mr. Schue said, smiling at Quinn.

Rachel and Sam sat side by side while Quinn walked to the top of the risers, sitting beside Brittany. Sam looked a little disappointed that she didn't sit near them, but there were no other empty seats, and Rachel wasn't about to go sit near Brittany and Santana.

"You shoulda let me know you were coming," Puck said. "I would have put on a show for you."

Rachel rolled her eyes at Puck wiggling his eyebrows, and Sam tensed up next to her.

"Well, let's show Quinn what we can do," Mr. Schue said, clapping his hands together, and ignoring Puck's remark. "Would anyone like to come up here before we talk about this week's assignment?"

Rachel looked at Sam, wondering if he was going to take his shot since there was no guarantee Quinn would be back. Sam remained seated, though, as did everyone else.

"Alright then," Mr. Schue said, looking a little disappointed. "Let's get right into to this week's assignment—"

"Why didn't you perform?" Rachel whispered, but Sam just shrugged.

She didn't understand why he wasn't going to sing. He had been talking about getting Quinn to come for weeks, so he could show her how talented he is, but now that he had chance, he wasn't taking it. Sighing, she shook her head; she loved Sam, but she really didn't understand him sometimes. If it was her, she would be doing everything she could to get Quinn's attention; she actually couldn't imagine letting anything stop her from at least trying.


	5. Up and Down

**SalGersGirl: Don't worry; that will never happen…ever.**

**Thank you for all the lovely comments. They mean more than you know.**

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Up and Down**

"She's gonna love it!" Sam excitedly said. "She's gonna love it, right?"

"I'm sure she will," Rachel said, smiling softly.

"Good," Sam said, strumming his guitar a little.

Sam was just lucky Quinn decided to come back to Glee on Wednesday or he wouldn't have this opportunity. She hadn't officially joined New Directions, but Rachel inquired earlier that day if she was going to come again, and she said she was, so Sam was finally going to get his chance. Puck had sung to her the last time, but she didn't seem all that impressed. Of course, it could have something to do with his song choice; she didn't really seem to be a fan of his version of I Wanna Sex You Up.

"Do you think she'll stay?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Rachel said, shrugging. "I think she likes it—mostly." Rachel frowned. "I'm actually a little surprised she decided to come back after Wednesday, though."

"Yeah, Puck's song was a little—"

"Inappropriate, offensive, and completely uncalled for," Rachel interrupted. "I don't know what Mr. Schue was thinking letting him perform that song. He's our teacher; he really should take his job a little more seriously. At least Finn's song wasn't inappropriate, but it was still very obvious. At least our duet will be a little more subtle. It will show off your talent without overwhelming her and potentially making her uncomfortable by unwanted attention."

Sam smiled. "Yeah, thanks for the idea, Rach."

Sam originally wanted to sing to Quinn, but Rachel nixed the idea quickly and explained why a duet would be better. If he was singing with her, it wouldn't appear like he was actually singing for Quinn. She knew the blonde would be far more likely to notice her friend if he wasn't being trying to get her attention. Puck and Finn were constantly trying to get her attention, but she didn't seem to be going for either of them. They were both trying too hard, and Rachel was going to make sure Sam didn't do the same. Luckily he was listening to her a little more and taking her advice.

"I think we should go over it again," Rachel said.

"Why? It was perfect!" Sam said excitedly.

"It was good," Rachel replied. "I wouldn't say it was perfect, though."

Sam sighed. "I'm hungry."

"Do you want to impress Quinn?" Rachel asked.

"You know I do," Sam replied.

"Then we need to make sure this is perfect," Rachel reasoned.

Sam sighed again. "Fine. "

"Good." Rachel smiled brightly. "I think two or three more times through the whole song and we'll have it."

"Two or three?" Sam asked.

"As they say, practice makes perfect," Rachel commented. "And you want it to be perfect."

"Do you really think singing some lame song is going to make anyone like you?"

Rachel head snapped toward the back of the stage at the sound of Santana's voice.

"What is she doing here?" Sam whispered.

"Seriously, why are you even trying?" Santana asked. "We're all just going to laugh at you."

"Why does it matter to you if he tries?" Rachel asked. "If you think he doesn't have a chance, who cares? And you love laughing at us, so why would you ever want to deprive yourself of that privilege?"

"Maybe it's because I would rather pour acid in my ears than listen to you sing again," Santana replied.

"Well, I'm sure you can find some in the chemistry lab," Rachel retorted.

Santana crossed her arms over her chest. "What did you just say?"

"Well, you would rather pour acid in your ears than hear me sing, and since I'm going to sing today, I'm just letting you know where you can find the acid," Rachel said, shrugging. "I simply thought I would help you out."

Santana narrowed her eyes and turned on her heel, walking away from them. Rachel watched Santana until she was out of the auditorium and the door was closed behind her.

"You know she's going to make you pay for that," Sam said.

Rachel sighed. "Probably, but I can only take so much of her abuse before I can no longer contain what I want to say to her. You know I try to be polite and nice to everyone, but some people make it very difficult."

Rachel was used to Santana's behavior, but sometimes it would become too much and she would find herself saying something back. She usually tried to take the higher ground and ignore her, but it wasn't always possible. Sam was right about making her pay for it, too. The last time she did it, Santana had her slushied twice a day for a week. Another time, she found her locker full of dirt. She had no idea how Santana got into her locker, but she suspected Miss Sylvester, the cheerleading coach, had something to do with it. Everyone was afraid of the woman, including Principal Figgins, which is why the Cheerios got away with everything. Punishing them would mean going against Coach Sylvester, and no one wanted to do that.

"Do you think she'll tell Quinn?" Sam asked.

Rachel shook her head. "I think she thinks you won't have a chance and will have far more fun watching you try. Telling Quinn would just spoil her fun. Even if she does, Quinn doesn't seem like the type of person who would be mean about it."

"Yeah, she does seem pretty cool, doesn't she?" Sam replied, smiling.

"Okay, now that Santana is gone, we should get back to work," Rachel said, putting her hands on her hips, and the smile dropped off Sam's face. "Don't give me that look. I'm a perfectionist, which you knew when you agreed to doing this duet with me."

"I know, I know," Sam said, laughing. "Alright, let's do this."

* * *

"Does my hair look okay?" Sam asked.

"It looks the same as it did two minutes ago," Rachel replied.

"Yeah, but—does it look okay?" Sam asked.

"It looks fine, Sam," Rachel answered.

He frowned. "Just fine?"

"It looks like it always does," Rachel said, glancing up at him.

"I'll be right back," Sam said, turning, and walking to the nearest bathroom.

"What's up with him?" Mercedes asked as she walked up to Rachel.

"We are performing a duet today and I think he's a little nervous," Rachel replied.

"Since when does he get nervous about performing?" Mercedes asked. "Please tell me he isn't going to embarrass himself like Puck and Finn did."

"He won't," Rachel replied. "We're just singing a song; that's not unheard of, is it?"

"No, but the timing is a little suspicious," Kurt said, coming up on the other side of Rachel, clearly listening in on their conversation.

"We are simply performing together, as we have done many times," Rachel said. "There is nothing suspicious about that."

"Uh huh," Mercedes said, eyeing her.

"Even if he was singing the song for her, what does it matter?" Rachel asked.

"Because if one more guy sings some stupid song, that girl ain't ever coming back," Mercedes replied.

"She's right," Kurt agreed. "And we could definitely use her if we're going to win Nationals this year."

"We haven't even heard her sing," Rachel replied.

"No, but the more we have, the better," Kurt said, shrugging. "And I may be gay, but I have eyes; that girl is incredibly beautiful, which can't hurt our chances, now can it?"

Rachel frowned. "So, you want her in the club, so we can use her to win? You don't even care if she can sing or dance—you just want her to stand around and look pretty?"

"That's not what I said," Kurt replied, rolling his eyes.

"That kinda is what you said," Mercedes said.

"Don't you want to win Nationals this year?" Kurt asked. "Does it really matter how we do it? We have given it our all, and I know you two want to win just as much as I do. Maybe then the morons at this school will give us the respect we deserve."

"I wouldn't hold your breath," Mercedes said, shaking her head.

"Better?" Sam asked as he walked toward them.

Rachel glanced at his hair; it looked exactly the same, but she nodded, so he would stop worrying about it.

"Awesome," Sam said, smiling. "What are we talking about?"

"How we're going to be late for Glee if we keep standing around," Rachel lied.

"You're right," Sam said, looking at his watch. "C'mon."

"Since when are you in such a hurry?" Kurt asked.

"I wanna get this over with," Sam said, running a hand through his hair.

Rachel followed Sam to the choir room while Mercedes and Kurt followed her. They were still early—only Tina, Artie, and Mike were already there—and Sam only seemed to get more nervous as time passed. After he sat down, he started rubbing his hands up and down on his jeans and he would occasionally mess with his hair. All of this stopped the moment Quinn walked into the room, though, and he bolted upright, not moving a muscle the rest of the time.

Rachel almost wanted to laugh at him, but at the same time, she felt a little sorry for him. He obviously had a bigger crush on Quinn than any of the past girls, and she knew it would be mean to laugh at him for it. If roles were reversed, she wouldn't appreciate him laughing, so she remained quiet and hoped the smiles she gave him provided some comfort.

Mr. Schue walked in several minutes after Puck finally strolled in and Sam started fidgeting again. She reached over, putting her hand over his, and giving it a squeeze. He looked at her and took a deep breath, nodding his head, and Rachel took it to mean that he was okay. Rachel gave his hand another squeeze and released it, focusing on Mr. Schue, who was now in front of them."

"There have been some—interesting performances this week." Mr. Schue cleared his throat. "Does anyone else have anything they would like to sing for us?"

Rachel's hand shot up. "Sam and I do, Mr. Schue."

"Okay, then," he replied stepping to the side. "We're ready when you are."

"You'll be okay," Rachel whispered to Sam as she stood.

Sam nodded and stood up, walking over to grab his guitar from the cabinet. Puck let out a couple rude noises while they set up and Rachel just rolled her eyes. Mr. Schue, as usual, did absolutely nothing to stop the behavior, so Rachel did her best to ignore it.

Rachel and Sam locked eyes and they nodded simultaneously; Sam then looked to the band, nodding to them, and they started playing together. She waited a few seconds, listening for her cue, and put her hands on the microphone as she turned to the rest of the club.

"_You found hope, you found faith  
__Found how fast she could take it away  
__Found true love, but lost your heart  
__Now you don't know who you are"_

She looked down, listening as Sam started singing. She could tell his voice was a little shaky, but it got stronger as he continued to sing.

"_She made it easy, made it free  
__Made you hurt till you couldn't see  
__Sometimes it stops, sometimes it flows  
__But baby, that is how love goes"_

Rachel joined him for the chorus and looked over at him. He looked back, smiling, looking much more confident than he did when they began.

"_You will fly and you will crawl  
__God knows even angels fall  
__No such thing as you've lost it all  
__God knows even angels fall"_

As he took over the next verse, Rachel glanced at Quinn. She wondered if this was going to work; at least Quinn didn't look annoyed, though, like she did during Puck and Finn's performances. She was watching Sam, but after a few moments, she looked over, locking eyes with Rachel.

"_It's a secret that no one tells  
__One day it's heaven, one day it's hell  
__And it's no fairy tale, take it from me  
__That's the way it's supposed to be"_

Rachel joined in with Sam again and averted her eyes; she could still feel Quinn looking at her, though she didn't know why the blonde's eyes were on her and not Sam.

"_You will fly and you will crawl  
__God knows even angels fall  
__No such thing as you've lost it all  
__God knows even angels fall"_

Throughout Rachel's final verse and Sam joining her for the last chorus, she could still see Quinn looking at her for most of it, but by the end of the song, she was looking at Sam again.

"_You laugh, you cry, no one knows why  
__But oh the thrill of it all  
__You're on the ride  
__You might as well open your eyes_

"_You will fly and you will crawl  
__God knows even angels fall  
__No such thing as you've lost it all  
__God knows even angels fall  
__Even angels fall  
__Even angels fall"_

Almost everyone clapped for them—Finn, Puck, and Santana were the only ones who didn't—and Sam was smiling widely. He immediately wrapped his arms around Rachel, lifting her off the ground as he hugged her, and she laughed, patting his back. He was clearly happy with the performance and since this was about him, Rachel was happy with it, too.

"How sweet," Santana sarcastically said when everything died down. "You should sing that at Sectionals; I'm sure you'll give the judges a cavity. Then again, maybe it'd be a better idea to let the people sing who aren't going to make their ears bleed. Plus, you'll probably make them go blind if they have to look at you very long. I know I wish I would, so I wouldn't have to see those hideous sweaters anymore."

"Don't you ever get tired of putting everyone else down?" Rachel snapped.

"Not really, no," Santana replied.

"Okay, anyone else?" Mr. Schue asked loudly.

* * *

"So, that went okay, right?" Sam whispered as they walked toward the exit. "Other than Santana being, well, Santana."

"I think it went quite well," Rachel replied.

She knew it could have gone better—Sam was definitely a little shaky in the beginning. Still, she felt like it was one of their better performances, and she was definitely pleased with it. She didn't care what Santana said; she knew they would have no problem winning Sectionals if Mr. Schue would let her and Sam perform together.

Sam opened his mouth to say something, but they were passing by Quinn in the hall and he quickly closed his mouth. Rachel let out a light laugh and shook her head. They were almost all the way down the hall when Sam finally stopped looking so tense.

"Do you think she—"

"Hey, Rachel!" Quinn called down the hall.

The two stopped and Rachel turned around. Quinn was still standing at her locker, looking down the hall at them

"I'll be right back, Sam," Rachel said.

"But—"

"I'll be right back," Rachel repeated.

She walked down the hall, glancing back at Sam, who was watching her fairly intently. She wondered what Quinn could want—and why she didn't say something as they walked by—because she didn't have a clue. They didn't have another physics project for several weeks, so she didn't think it would be about that, and they weren't exactly what Rachel would call friends. They weren't unfriendly with each other, but they rarely talked outside of class, so she considered them more situational friends.

"Hey," Quinn said as Rachel got closer. "I—" Quinn let out a laugh. "You sounded amazing today. I had no idea you could sing like that. I mean, I knew you said you wanted to be on Broadway, but—I had no idea."

Rachel found herself blushing; she was used to telling people how amazing she was, but she rarely had other people say it to her. "Thank you, Quinn."

"Santana's an idiot," Quinn stated.

Rachel laughed. "Don't let her hear you say that."

"I'm not afraid of her," Quinn said, shaking her head. "And it's true; she's so wrong about you."

Rachel smiled shyly and ducked her head. Other than her fathers and occasionally her friends, no one had ever really said anything like this to her. It was just nice to hear it coming from someone who was a little more objective.

"I wish Mr. Schue would let Sam and I perform together at our next competition," Rachel said, looking over her shoulder at him. "He usually has me singing with Finn, but I think Sam and I sound much better together."

"So—you two sing together a lot?" Quinn said.

"Yes," Rachel replied.

"Are you two dating?" Quinn asked.

Rachel couldn't help but laugh. "No, no—we are simply friends. Sam is like a brother to me."

Quinn nodded and turned to shut her locker. "Well, I should go. I told my mom I would be home right after school to help her with dinner since some of my dad's colleagues are coming over tonight."

"Are you coming back to Glee next week?" Rachel asked.

Quinn smiled. "I think I will."

"That's wonderful," Rachel said, smiling back.

"Yeah," Quinn replied. "I'll see you Monday."

Rachel nodded. "Have a good weekend, Quinn."

Quinn gave her another smile before walking down the hall, and after a few moments, Rachel followed in her footsteps. Sam definitely looked eager as she approached."

"Did she say anything about me?" Sam immediately asked.

"Not particularly," Rachel replied. "She did ask if we are dating, but—"

"Wait, she wanted to know if we're dating?" Sam interrupted.

"Yes," Rachel replied.

"That's awesome!" Sam said, throwing his fist into the air. "It means she's interested, right? She wouldn't care if she didn't like me back!"

"Maybe," Rachel said, shrugging.

"What other explanation could there be?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Rachel replied. "Maybe she was just curious."

"Oh, c'mon," Sam said, laughing.

"I just don't want you to get your hopes up and end up disappointed," Rachel remarked.

Sam just shook his head, clearly not listening to her. "Wanna come over?"

"Do you need help babysitting?" Rachel asked.

"Nah, my mom's off tonight," Sam replied.

"Why don't you come over to my house, then?" Rachel asked.

Sam shrugged. "Sure."

* * *

"I'm telling you, you gotta watch it!" Sam said as Rachel shut the door to her house.

"I have no desire to watch Fight Club," Rachel said, passing by him, heading toward the kitchen.

"But it's awesome!" Sam said, following behind her.

"If you haven't noticed, it's not really my type of movie," Rachel commented.

"You said the same thing about Star Wars, but now you like them," Sam argued.

"Yes, but Star Wars isn't unnecessarily violent," Rachel said, walking into the kitchen.

"What are we talking about?" Rachel's father, Leroy, asked as they walked in.

"Sam is trying to convince me to watch Fight Club," Rachel answered.

"Again?" Leroy asked with a laugh. "You don't give up, do you?"

"Never," Sam replied.

Rachel shook her head; they'd had this conversation way too many times to count. The movies varied, but Sam was always trying to get her to watch movies—usually violent ones that were geared more toward men—and she would try to broaden his viewing to something that wasn't full of action, violence, and blood. Meaning, she tried to get him to watch her favorite musicals and older movies, but he didn't want to watch anything that was in black and white.

"Do you two have anything planned for this evening?" Leroy asked.

Rachel shrugged. "Not really. I was thinking I would get an early start on my homework."

"That's boring," Sam commented.

"I'm aware," Rachel replied.

Leroy laughed. "That's my daughter."

"There is nothing wrong with wanting to get homework out of the way," Rachel said, putting her hands on her hips. "It just means I don't have to worry about it later; there is nothing wrong with that."

"I didn't say there was, sweetie," Leroy replied. "Sam, are you staying for dinner?"

"Sure," Sam replied. "You know I'm always up for free food."

Leroy laughed. "I know."

"What are we eating, anyway?" Sam asked.

"I thought I would make my famous phone call to the pizza place," Leroy answered.

"Do you or Dad even know we have a stove?" Rachel joked.

"I have heard a rumor," Leroy said, shrugging. "I think it's a myth, though. I certainly haven't seen any evidence of it."

"You know that thing you set the pizza box on?" Rachel asked.

"That big square thing?" Leroy asked.

"Yes, that would be the mythical stove," Rachel replied.

"Well I'll be," Leroy said, looking up at it. "I've always wondered what that thing was, but I was always afraid to touch the knobs. I didn't know what would happen if I did."

Sam laughed as he walked to the fridge, grabbing the carton of orange juice from it. "I actually like that you guys eat out all the time; it's the only time I get to. I mean, home cooking's cool and all, but sometimes I like some Chinese food."

"Well, your father isn't going to be home for another hour," Leroy said.

"Let's watch a movie," Sam said, pouring himself a glass of juice.

"Only if I get to pick," Rachel replied.

"Oh c'mon," Sam whined.

"Okay, you can pick the movie, but you have to choose it from the movies I own," Rachel conceded.

Sam sighed. "Alright."

Rachel narrowed her eyes. "We're watching Harry Potter again, aren't we?"

"It's the only thing you have that isn't a musical!" Sam replied.

"That is not true," Rachel stated. "It is a gross generalization to say that I only enjoy musicals. You know my movie collection is much more diverse than that."

Sam laughed. "Fine, but I still wanna watch Harry Potter."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Leroy said, looking at them. "How'd it go today?"

"It went very well," Rachel replied. "We sounded very good; I think it was one of our better duets."

"Quinn asked Rachel afterwards if we were dating," Sam added. "That's gotta be a good sign, doesn't it?"

"It could be," Leroy replied. "Or maybe she's just curious."

"That's what I said," Rachel said.

Sam frowned, looking a little dejected. "I'll go start the movie."

Rachel and her father both watched him as he walked away, and then the latter asked, "Do you think the girl is interested at all?"

"I don't know." Rachel shrugged. "He's going to be crushed if she isn't."

"Poor Sam," Leroy said, shaking his head.

"You coming?" Sam called from the living room.

"Would you like to join us?" Rachel asked.

"I might as well," Leroy said, setting his book down. "It's not like that call to order pizza is going to be very time consuming and this book isn't particularly good."

Rachel smiled and called back, "We're coming, Sam; go ahead and start the movie."

* * *

**The song used was Even Angels Fall by Jessica Riddle.**


	6. Crush

**GuesT: You question seriously made me laugh. No, I don't hate Santana. Anyone who knows me knows she's my favorite character on the show. If I hated her she would have stayed dead in Chosen and I would basically ignore her in my stories instead of making her a major part in a lot of them.**

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Crush**

Rachel opened her locker with a sigh. She put her slushy stained clothes inside as well as her emergency kit that she used to clean herself up. She hadn't seen Santana coming and the Cheerio got her pretty badly. She figured she should count herself lucky; it was the first time she had been hit with one this week and it was Friday, so the weekend was almost there. It was probably a record, actually. She usually got slushied at least twice a week.

She frowned as she noticed several of the pictures in her locker had been stained with the red dye. One of her and Sam had splatters all over it; it was so bad that she was probably going to have to bring another copy if she still wanted it in her locker. Another wasn't quite as bad, which was good because it was her favorite. It was of her and the Glee Club—well, the ones that were her friends—right after they won their first competition. The picture meant a lot to her; after they won, it was the first time she felt like she truly had friends.

She pulled the towel out of her bag and wiped at both pictures before turning to clean of her textbooks. Luckily she had been standing in the way of them, so they were mostly undamaged; just a few spots of red here and there. The door had been hit much worse since it caught what splashed off her.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, rushing over. "Tina told me Santana got you."

"I'm fine," Rachel answered.

"You sure?" Sam asked.

"It isn't the first time it's happened," Rachel replied. "Besides, I'm all cleaned up now and I would like to ignore that it happened."

"At least it's Friday," Sam remarked.

"Yes, and I cannot wait for the weekend," Rachel said with a sigh.

"You got any plans?" Sam asked.

"None whatsoever," Rachel replied.

"Good," Sam smiled, "because my mom's got third shift tonight, so I don't have to babysit until later, which means we can go to the movies."

"What movie?" Rachel asked.

"The Immortals," Sam replied.

"I don't know, Sam," Rachel replied.

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"You know I'm not a huge fan of violent action films," Rachel said. "They tend to objectify women and I hate all the blood."

"There's, like, shirtless dudes in it and stuff," Sam replied.

"Is that supposed to make me want to see the movie?" Rachel asked.

Sam shrugged. "I didn't think it'd hurt. Come on, I don't want to go alone and it's not like I can bring Stacey or Stevie with me."

"Why don't you get one of the guys to go?" Rachel asked. "I'm sure Kurt and Blaine wouldn't mind seeing it.

"But then I'd be a third wheel," Sam replied.

Rachel sighed. "So take a fourth person."

"Just come with me," Sam said, putting on his puppy dog face, though it never actually worked on Rachel. "I went and saw that chick flick with you a few weeks ago and I sat through that Streisand movie at your house the other day. Just come see this with me. It's only, like, two hours of your life."

"Why don't you ask Quinn to go with you," Rachel asked.

"I doubt she'd wanna see it," Sam said, shrugging. "I really want to see it and I would like my best friend to come with me."

"Okay," Rachel relented. "I'll go to the movie with you."

"Awesome," Sam said, smiling. "I'll pick you up around six and we can get something to eat first. I'll even let you pick the restaurant since you're being cool and letting me pick the movie."

Rachel felt like telling him he needed to pay for the movie as well, but she knew he didn't have a lot of money. They actually didn't go to the movies together that much because of the price, and when they did, they usually went to matinee. Rachel didn't mind, though; it just meant she could spend time with her best friend while still having her evenings free to do other things.

"Okay, but call when you're on your way," Rachel replied.

Sam laughed. "I will."

Sam was notorious for being late; usually it was because he had to do something with his brother and sister, so she couldn't begrudge him for that. Still, she usually liked to know when he was on his way so she wasn't sitting there waiting for him, thinking he was going to be on time.

"You wanna go to the cafeteria or do wanna go to the choir room?" Sam asked.

"I'm going to go to the choir room, but you can go to the cafeteria if you would like to eat," Rachel replied. "I would just rather not go in there; I imagine Santana is waiting on me so she can humiliate me some more and I would rather not experience that again today."

"It's cool," Sam said, shrugging. "Mom packed me a lunch, so I'll just grab it from my locker. I'd share with you, but—"

"There is nothing I could consume without giving up my veganism," Rachel said.

"Yeah," Sam said, giving her a lopsided smile. "I'm gonna go grab it. I'll be in the choir room in a minute."

Rachel nodded and turned, heading toward the choir room. She wasn't excited about the movie, but it would be nice to go out on a Friday evening like most of her peers. And maybe the movie wouldn't be so bad, but even if it was, as Sam said, it was only two hours of her life.

* * *

"Please tell me they're not seeing the same movie as us," Sam said, sinking down in his seat a bit.

Rachel looked through the windshield and saw Brittany and Santana walking into the movie theater. "I highly doubt it; Brittany would never want to see it and everyone knows Santana does what Brittany wants."

"Can we wait til they go inside?" Sam asked.

"I do believe that is wise," Rachel replied. "I would rather Santana not spoil our evening."

Rachel sighed a bit and slumped in her seat. She wondered how long they should wait, but they had to buy their tickets and Brittany would probably want something from the concession stand, so it would probably be at least five minutes.

"Are you alright?"

Rachel hummed and looked at Sam. "Why do you ask?"

"I dunno," Sam shrugged, "you just seem a little weird this week."

"I suppose I'm just a bit worried about Sectionals," Rachel replied. "It's coming up in less than a month and I've been thinking a lot about it."

"Why're you worried?" Sam asked.

"I guess I'm just worried about how we're going to do," Rachel replied. "I feel like we need to step up our game if we want to win this year. And I don't just mean Sectionals, I mean everything—Regionals, Nationals; I don't think we're ever going to win the way New Directions currently is. We are far too divided and I think it shows in our performances. We'll make it through Sectionals because we don't have a lot of competition and maybe even Regionals, but I'm not so sure we can win Nationals. Last year was a complete disaster and I don't want to experience that again. It has been my high school goal to win and I don't want that dream to be over simply because the club cannot get along."

"We'll win," Sam stated. "Don't worry about it. Who knows, maybe we'll all be getting along by then." Sam laughed. "Okay, maybe not, but you're an awesome singer, and if Schue lets us sing together, we'll kill the competition"

Rachel wanted to believe Sam, but it seemed like the rift in Glee was getting worse. She really thought it would improve over time, but that didn't seem to be the case. Puck was going more obnoxious and Santana was getting even meaner if that was possible. She may have hoped at one time that the club would come together, but the chances of that happening now were looking pretty slim.

"I think we can probably go inside now," Rachel said.

"Good," Sam said, opening his door. "I don't wanna be late and miss the previews."

Rachel got out of the car as well and the two walked to the theater. She kept an eye out for the Cheerios, but she didn't see either of them, so she counted herself lucky. They waited in line to buy their tickets and then Sam got some popcorn and a soda, but Rachel decided to forgo anything from the concession stand. They did just eat, after all; Sam was a bottomless pit, though, so it wasn't surprising he was already eating again.

"Hopefully there's some seats near the back," Sam remarked, putting a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"I'm sure there will be," Rachel said, handing over her ticket, and getting back the stub. "Thank you."

"Awesome," Sam said when he walked into the theater. "It's not too crowded."

Sam walked to the back aisle, getting as close to the middle as he could, and sat down. The theater wasn't overly crowded—Rachel wasn't surprised by that—but there were quite a few people sitting around where they were.

"Do you think I should sing again next week?" Sam asked.

"I think you should sing every week," Rachel replied. "Mr. Schue does expect everyone to participate in his weekly assignments even if half the club doesn't."

"Yeah, but I mean—"

"Quinn," Rachel interrupted.

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying," Sam replied. "Should I sing again so—"

"No, I mean she's here," Rachel interrupted again.

"What?" Sam said, turning quickly to scan the crowd.

Sam slumped down in his seat as if he was trying to hide, which Rachel didn't understand at all. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know," Sam replied.

Quinn had paused coming up the steps and was looking around; it only took a few seconds, but she locked eyes with Rachel and smiled. Rachel smile back and gave her a wave.

"Oh my god," Sam said, his eyes widening. "Is she coming up here?"

"It looks like it," Rachel replied.

"Why is she here?" Sam hissed.

"I assume to watch the movie," Rachel said.

"You know what I mean," Sam replied.

"It's not like either of us know her taste in movies," Rachel said, shaking her head slightly. "She could love this type of movie, which is why you should have asked her if she wanted to come."

"Hey," Quinn said as she neared. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," Rachel replied, trying to discreetly nudge Sam in the ribs.

"Yeah," Sam replied. "I mean no." Sam sighed. "I mean it's cool if you join us."

Quinn laughed lightly. "Thanks."

"Move down, Rach," Sam said.

"It's okay," Quinn said, moving past him. "I'll just take the seat next to her."

Sam looked disappointed for a moment, but it quickly passed. Rachel figured he was just happy that he was getting to spend time with Quinn even if Rachel was sitting there between them. When she looked at Sam, he was chewing on more popcorn, already halfway through his bucket. He started to wipe his hands on his pants, and Rachel put her hand over his to still it.

"I guess I should go get some napkins," Sam whispered.

"Probably," Rachel whispered back.

"I'll be right back," Sam said, standing.

Rachel watched Sam make his way down the aisle, but looked at Quinn when she said, "I really liked that song you sang today."

"It's one of my favorites," Rachel said, smiling.

"I'd never heard it before," Quinn replied.

Rachel gasped. "You've never seen Chicago?"

"I haven't," Quinn replied.

"You should definitely remedy that," Rachel remarked. "While the stage production is much better than the movie, it's still worth watching."

Quinn smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good," Rachel replied with a smile. "May I ask why you haven't sung yet?"

"I don't know," Quinn shrugged. "Everyone else is just so good and I'm not the strongest singer."

"Still, you should sing," Rachel said. "I'm sure you're better than you think."

"Maybe," Quinn replied.

"You're an excellent dancer," Rachel stated.

"I don't know if I'd say excellent, but I'm okay," Quinn said with a laugh. "My old cheerleading couch made us take dance lessons so we would be better."

"Why haven't you tried out for the Cheerios yet?" Rachel asked.

She had been wondering it for quite some time. She had assumed Quinn would join; she hung around Santana and Brittany and sat at the Cheerio table, but she still hadn't. Then Rachel found out Quinn had cheered at her last school, which made her wonder even more.

"I thought about it, but the coach seems insane and I just don't know if I want to do it anymore," Quinn replied. "At Carmel I was far too worried about popularity; I told myself I wouldn't do that here, though. It was exhausting and I wasn't even happy. I—oh, I guess the movie's starting."

"Sam better get back soon or he'll miss the previews," Rachel commented.

"Are the previews really that important?" Quinn asked.

"Sam likes them," Rachel said, shrugging. "He loves movies, so he likes to see what's coming up. He watches all the trailers online, but he says there's nothing like seeing them on the big screen."

Quinn hummed and Rachel wondered if it was a good or a bad thing. She hoped she hasn't said too much; _she_ knew Sam was a bit of a dork, but she didn't think he would appreciate it if Quinn knew that.

* * *

"That was awesome," Sam said the moment the credits started rolling.

"It was—interesting," Rachel said.

"That's not exactly a ringing endorsement," Quinn replied.

"It wasn't exactly my type of movie," Rachel said, standing up.

"C'mon, that was awesome!" Sam said.

Quinn laughed. "It was okay."

"You're both crazy," Sam said, shaking his head.

"Two against one," Rachel stated. "You're the odd one out; I believe that makes _you_ the crazy one."

"Very funny," Sam said.

"Do you two want to go to the Lima Bean?" Quinn asked, walking out of the theater.

"I can't," Sam replied, sighing as he threw his empty cup and popcorn bucket in the garage can. "My mom's working third shift and I gotta babysit my brother and sister."

"What about you?" Quinn asked, looking at Rachel.

"I, umm—" Rachel glanced at Sam. "Sam is my ride, so I should probably go home."

"I can take you home," Quinn said. "If you want to get coffee."

"Why don't you go," Sam said, nudging her.

"Okay," Rachel replied. "Coffee sounds good."

"Oh no," Sam said, walking through the lobby.

"What?" Rachel asked.

Sam discreetly pointed to the other side of the room and Rachel looked to see Brittany and Santana standing there. Luckily they didn't seem to have noticed them yet, so Rachel picked up her pace. Sam quickly followed and the two walked out of the building together with Quinn lagging behind. When she joined them just outside the theater, she gave them both an amused look.

"Very inconspicuous," Quinn said.

"I see enough of them at school," Rachel said. "I don't need to be verbally abused outside of school; I get more than enough of that throughout the week."

"I should go," Sam said, looking at his watch. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Sam," Rachel said.

"Night, Rach," Sam said smiling at her, and then he gave a little wave to Quinn before turning and walking to his car.

"Do you want to just walk to the Lima Bean?" Quinn asked.

"Sure." Rachel shrugged. "It's a nice night and it's just down the street."

"I have a question," Quinn said as soon as they stepped onto the sidewalk.

"Yes?" Rachel asked.

"Santana and Brittany," Quinn said.

"What about them?" Rachel asked.

"They seem very close," Quinn remarked.

"Yes they do," Rachel agreed, looking at Quinn. "I'm going to assume you're asking about their—relationship."

"So, they are together," Quinn said.

"It's one of those things that almost everyone knows, but no one really talks about," Rachel replied. "Mostly because Santana would probably murder anyone who came out and said it. I think she likes to pretend that no one knows, but they have been far too obvious for years. Do you—have a problem with that?"

"No." Quinn laughed. "I was just curious."

They were at the Lima Bean in no time and Quinn opened the door, holding it open for Rachel. Rachel thanked her and walked to the counter. Once their orders were placed, they walked to a table near the window to wait for their names to be called. Rachel was surprised by how busy the place was, but she guessed she shouldn't be; it was Friday and there wasn't really a lot to do in Lima.

"I think I might sing next week," Quinn suddenly said.

Rachel smiled. "Good; I can't wait to hear you."

"You say that now, but you'll probably wish I never attempted to sing," Quinn replied with a laugh.

"I doubt that," Rachel said, shaking her head. "I'm sure you have a beautiful voice."

"Yeah?" Quinn said.

"Yeah," Rachel said, smiling softly.

Quinn smiled back and Rachel's smiled faltered a little. She looked away, and Quinn's name was called a few moments later, so she got up to get her drink. Rachel glanced at her as she walked to the counter, and then took a deep breath. Her heart had fluttered when Quinn smiled at her and she knew that feeling. She couldn't have that feeling, though.

It wasn't that she couldn't have a crush on a girl—she'd had those on occasion, so it wasn't completely surprising—but Sam liked Quinn and Sam was her best friend. Plus, Quinn would never be interested in someone like her. Quinn was beautiful and popular and Rachel was—Rachel. She had never had a boyfriend—or girlfriend—in her life. She'd had a few dates with a guy named Jesse St. James, but it quickly became obvious that he was using her to bring New Directions down, so she had ended things.

She jumped slightly when she heard her name called, but when she looked up, Quinn was grabbing her coffee for her. Quinn made her way through the small crowd near the register and set the cup in front of Rachel.

"Thank you," Rachel said.

"You're welcome," the blonde replied, sitting down.

Rachel's phone buzzed and she picked it up to find a text from Sam asking if she was having fun. A second one was sent a few moments later that asked call him when she got home and let him know what all happened. Rachel sighed and turned her phone over, trying to ignore it.

"Is everything okay?" Quinn asked.

"No, that was my Dad," Rachel lied. "He, uh, wants me to come home."

"Let's get you home, then," Quinn said, standing up.

Rachel hated lying, but she needed to get home, where she could process this without Quinn sitting across from her, looking absolutely perfect.

* * *

Rachel had been pacing around her room for thirty minutes before she finally sat down on her bed. She was going over everything in her head. She didn't know why it took her so long to realize she had a crush on Quinn, but it made sense; she found herself looking at Quinn often, sometimes not even realizing she was staring at her. She'd been drawn to Quinn since the day she started at McKinley, and now she realized why.

This revelation gave her little comfort, though. How could she like Quinn when Sam liked her, too?

She obviously couldn't ever let him know; she didn't know whether or not he would be upset over it, but either way, she didn't think it would be a good idea. The last thing she needed was people knowing. If Sam knew, he might accidently let it slip to their friends—he wasn't the best at keeping secrets—and then there would be the chance of Quinn finding out. She didn't want things to be awkward between them; they were lab partners and in Glee together, so there was no escaping her if things did get weird between them.

The thought that Quinn could like her back didn't even cross her mind. She didn't know Quinn's sexual preference, but it didn't matter. Quinn seemed okay with being friends with her despite the fact that Rachel was the number one target for the popular kids, but being interested beyond that was a whole other matter. Quinn herself had even said she had been worried about her popularity while attending Carmel, and things like that don't just completely go away. It would be one thing to date Sam—he was unpopular, but not at the same level as Rachel—but dating Rachel would result in slushies being tossed in her face, among other things.

She sighed and flopped back on her bed. She was tired of thinking about this. She liked Quinn, but doing anything about it was out of the question—and she didn't even know if she would want to do anything about it. She may have had crushes on girls before, but acting on it was something she didn't know if she was prepared to do. Not even Sam, her best friend, knew about it. She was already different enough considering she was Jewish, adopted, and had two gay fathers—she didn't know if she was ready to declare that she was also not straight.

Kurt and Blaine were the only two students in McKinley who were out, and they got a lot of grief over it. She didn't count Brittany and Santana; nearly everyone knew about them, but everyone was too afraid of Santana to bully them over it. Rachel was already bullied on a regular basis; she couldn't even imagine what it would be like if they found out about this, too.

Her phone buzzed on her nightstand and she turned her head to look at it, but made no attempts to move. She knew it was Sam. He had been texting every five minutes and had even tried calling twice. He was probably wondering why she wasn't answering since she was usually very prompt about it. When it started buzzing again, she sighed and reached for the phone.

"Hello," she said.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked. "I've been texting you for, like, an hour."

"I'm fine," Rachel lied. "I'm home now, and I was downstairs with my fathers, but my phone was in my room."

"Oh, okay," Sam replied before there was some noise in the background. "Stop it, Stacey. Stop! I'll ask her in a second."

Rachel couldn't help but laugh. "What's going on?"

"Stacey wants me to ask if you'll come over tomorrow," Sam said. "She has some birthday party or something and wants your help with her makeup for her princess costume." Sam paused. "Sorry, _fairy_ costume."

"I can help her," Rachel said, smiling.

"She says she'll come," Sam said, sounding a bit muffled. "Okay, I need to get them to bed, but I wanna hear all about coffee with Quinn tomorrow."

"Okay," Rachel replied, happy that it would give her enough time to figure out what to say to him.

"Later, Rach," Sam said.

"Goodnight, Sam," Rachel replied.

She threw her phone beside of her and sighed. Her friendship with Sam was more important to her than anything and she wasn't willing to jeopardize it. She knew she needed to put this out of her mind, but that was easier said than done. Now that she realized she had a crush, she knew it would probably be all she could think about.

* * *

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


	7. Torn

**Chapter 7 – Torn**

"What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked back.

"You always rush off to class," Sam replied.

"Oh," Rachel looked down, "I'm simply not in a hurry today. Mr. Jacobson is often late, so there's really no reason to rush."

"Cool," Sam said, giving her a crooked smile.

Truthfully, Rachel wanted to hurry to class, but she figured the less time she spent next to Quinn the better. After realizing she had a crush on the blonde, she couldn't seem to stop thinking about her all weekend. She supposed she thought about her quite a bit before, but she really didn't realize it at the time. Now that it was on the forefront of her mind, it seemed to be all she could think about despite the fact that she swore to herself that she would ignore her feelings.

"You okay?" Sam asked.

Rachel hummed as she turned to look at him. "I'm fine. I guess I didn't sleep very well last night."

Sam frowned. "Why not?"

"I don't know," Rachel lied. "I suppose it was just one of those nights."

"I know what you mean," Sam said, closing his locker, and leaning against it. "Stacey was sick last night and woke me up at, like, three this morning."

"Is she okay?" Rachel asked.

Sam shrugged. "I think it's just a stomach thing. She felt better this morning, but she still stayed home from school today."

"Are you babysitting this evening?" Rachel asked.

Sam nodded. "Mom's working and dad's pulling a double shift."

"Well, maybe I can bring some soup over for dinner," Rachel replied.

"She'd like that," Sam said, smiling.

Rachel knew it would probably make her feel better and Sam wasn't much of a cook. The most he really knew how to cook were simple things like macaroni and cheese or ramen noodles, which Rachel didn't think was the best thing to eat when you were sick. She could easily go home after Glee and fix the soup—she was fairly certain she already had everything needed for it.

Rachel sighed and looked at the clock in the hallway. "I guess I will go to class."

"You're usually more excited about it," Sam said with a laugh.

Rachel shrugged. "I'll see you after class."

"Later, Rach," Sam said, shouldering his backpack.

Rachel walked to her classroom and hesitated for a moment by the door. Quinn was already there, which was unsurprising since the final bell would ring in a minute or two, and Rachel couldn't help but think how pretty she looked today. She was wearing a gray and white sundress with a black cardigan over it. Rachel always admired the way the blonde dressed; she was effortlessly fashionable in a way that Rachel could only dream of being. She envied her for it, really. There was rarely a day that Rachel made it through school without being bullied for her fashion choices, and though she tried to act as if she was unaffected by the taunts, she sometimes found herself fighting back tears over it.

She walked into the room, avoiding going anywhere near Santana, and went to her seat to sit down. Quinn was reading a book, seemingly oblivious to her presence, so Rachel sat in silence as she unpacked her bag. She didn't want to interrupt the blonde and figured it would be best if she didn't speak to her since whenever she had a crush, she often said things she didn't mean to say.

"Are you okay?" Quinn suddenly asked, causing Rachel to jump in surprise.

"I—yes," Rachel replied. "Why do you ask?"

"You just—" Quinn shook her head and smiled. "I don't know. How are you?"

"Good," Rachel replied, her voice slightly higher pitched than normal. "What about you? How are you?"

"I'm fine," Quinn said, laughing.

"Good weekend?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shrugged. "It was okay. I mostly did homework; not very exciting."

"I suppose that would depend on the subject," Rachel remarked. "I quite like doing our homework assignments for Glee."

Quinn smiled again. "I've noticed; you do take them very seriously. Actually, you seem to be the only person who does."

"Yes, I do wish everyone else would take them as seriously as I do," Rachel replied. "I believe it would increase our chances of winning Nationals, but Mr. Schue seems inclined to let everyone slack and then expects us to be ready for our competitions."

"You don't like him very much, do you?" Quinn asked.

"It's not that I don't like him," Rachel replied. "I just don't think he always does what is best for the club. I'm sure all the other clubs are already preparing for Sectionals and learning their choreography, but Mr. Schue hasn't even selected a set list for us. He likes to wait to the last minute, and that is not the way we are going to win Nationals. Last year we actually went to New York not only without a set list or choreography, but we were also supposed to write the songs while we were there, only days before the competition. We completely squandered our opportunity of winning Nationals because we were so underprepared. I don't want to do that again this year; I want to win and show everyone that we're just as good as they are."

"I think we'll win," Quinn remarked.

"And what makes you think that?" Rachel wondered.

"Because we have something no one else does," the blonde replied.

"What's that?" Rachel asked, furrowing her brows.

"You," Quinn replied. "You're an amazing performer and I can't imagine anyone else having someone that has half the talent as you."

Rachel could feel herself blushing at the compliment and she tried to hide her face behind her hair, but she imagined Quinn probably saw it anyway. Luckily she was saved by their teacher walking into the classroom.

"That was incredibly cheesy, by the way," Rachel joked once she recovered. "But thank you."

Quinn laughed. "I try."

* * *

Rachel was standing at her locker, but instead of putting away the book that was still in her hand, she was looking down the hall. Quinn was talking to Puck, who looked like he was putting on all his moves. Rachel had seen it many times with other girls, but they generally went for his charms after only a few moments. From what she'd heard, Puck had been trying to get Quinn to go out with him for nearly two months. No one knew why she was turning him down, though.

"Staring again I see."

Rachel head whipped around to look at Kurt. "What?"

"How is your crush going?" Kurt asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Rachel scoffed. "I do not have a crush on Noah."

"I never said you did," Kurt said, smiling deviously. "But you obviously have a crush on someone." Kurt looked over her shoulder. "And if you say you don't have a crush on Puck—"

"What are you saying?" Rachel asked, huffing.

"I'm not saying anything," Kurt said with a shrug. "I was only asking how your crush is going."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rachel lied.

"I think you do," Kurt insisted.

"Kurt—"

"Don't change the subject," Kurt interrupted.

"What's up, guys?" Sam asked, walking up to them.

Kurt smirked. "Just discussing Rachel's—ouch."

Rachel smiled at Sam after stomping on Kurt's foot. Sam looked confused, but at least Kurt was no longer talking. If Sam knew she had a crush on anyone, he would harass her until she told him who it was on. She didn't know how Kurt knew, but he was one of the biggest gossips in school, so he was one of the last people she wanted knowing. However, she also didn't think he would tell anyone because that would mean he was outing her and she didn't think he would do that. Still, she wasn't very comfortable with him knowing.

"Okay," Sam said, looking incredibly confused.

"Ignore Kurt," Rachel said.

Kurt huffed. "I don't appreciate that."

"So—what were you talking about?" Sam asked.

"We were discussing which song I should sing this week," Rachel lied.

"But Mr. Schue hasn't given us our weekly assignment," Sam pointed out.

"No, but everyone else just sort of sings whatever they want to, so I thought maybe I would do the same," Rachel replied. "There have been quite a few songs I have wanted to sing, but they've never really gone with the theme of the week. I figure it's now or never since this is my final year of high school, and who knows if Mr. Schue is ever going to give us an assignment that allows me the opportunity to perform any of the songs."

Rachel nudged Kurt in the side and he rolled his eyes as he said, "Yes, Rachel really wants to sing Barbie Girl before she graduates."

"He's joking, of course." Rachel shot him a dirty look. "I was thinking more along the lines of Over the Rainbow or My Heart Will Go On."

"Sounds good," Sam said, scratching the back of his head. "But anything you sing always sounds awesome. I mean, you even sounded awesome when you sang My Headband, and that song was—"

"Okay!" Rachel said, holding up her hands to interrupt him. "Thank you for the compliment, and I think we all know what My Headband was."

"Terrible," Kurt supplied.

"Yes, but I didn't see you trying to write a song at the time," Rachel replied.

"I was at Dalton at the time," Kurt stated.

"I know that," Rachel replied. "I'm simply saying it's not as easy as you think it is."

"See, that's my point," Sam said. "Even when you're singing crappy songs, you still sound good." Sam looked down the hall. "Oh no."

"What?" Rachel asked.

"It looks like Puck's asking Quinn out again," Sam said, frowning.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "What else is new?"

"You know he probably doesn't even like her," Rachel commented. "I think Noah just doesn't like the fact that there is a girl that is seemingly off limits for him."

"That doesn't mean she won't eventually say yes and he'll use her like he does everyone else," Sam replied.

"I think she's too smart for that," Rachel said. "I think she's one of the few girls at this school that actually sees right through his charade."

"I'm sure that makes you very happy," Kurt remarked.

"What?" Rachel asked, turning to look at him.

"Sam," Kurt said with a self-satisfied smile. "It makes Sam happy."

"Right," Rachel said, frowning.

"What's up with you today?" Sam asked. "I know you said you didn't sleep good or whatever, but you're being really weird." He turned to Kurt. "Don't you think she's being weird?"

"You know, I think we're going to be late for Glee if we don't go to the choir room right now," Rachel said, cutting off any response Kurt might have.

"We wouldn't be the only ones late," Sam said, still looking down the hallway.

"Maybe one of us should go save her from Puck's 'charms'," Kurt said, making quote marks.

"Yeah," Sam agreed, hiking up his backpack and then nudging Rachel. "You go."

"Why me?" Rachel asked.

"You two are, like, friends, right?" Sam said. "It would be weird if I went."

Rachel sighed and reluctantly said, "Alright."

Kurt gave her a little shove and she headed down the hall. She knew he was probably loving this; it wasn't often that he knew something Mercedes and Tina didn't. She walked slower than usual, hoping they would end their conversation before she got to them. She stopped just behind Quinn and Puck looked at her.

"What do you want?" Puck asked.

"Hey," Quinn said, looking over her shoulder.

"I just thought I would let you know that you are going to be late for Glee," Rachel said, internally rolling her eyes at herself.

"Thanks," Quinn said, smiling at her, and turning to walk down the hall.

"But—"

"Later, Puck," Quinn called. "Are you coming, Rachel?"

"Yes," Rachel said, smiling as she caught up to Quinn.

* * *

Rachel glanced across the cafeteria and then looked back down at her salad. She was trying not to stare, but her eyes kept wondering over to the popular table. She had been like this for the past few days—longer if she was being honest with herself—and she was afraid someone was eventually going to catch on. Well, other than Kurt, who was sitting across from her with a smirk on his face.

He looked like that every time he caught her looking in Quinn's direction, which was embarrassingly often. She told herself that Quinn was off limits and she needed to stop this crush, but that only seemed to make things worse. Rachel wasn't used to not going for things she wanted and Quinn was slowly beginning to occupy all her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, nudging her. "You keep staring at your food."

"I guess I'm not very hungry," Rachel replied

She had actually been losing her appetite quite a bit lately because when she thought of Quinn, she would remember that Sam also liked her. Sam had been there a lot in the past year whenever she didn't really have anyone else other than her fathers. He was there for her after they lost Nationals, spending a whole weekend trying to make her feel better by watching her favorite musicals and even taking her to a local production. He helped her out after Finn's dancing broke her nose and she couldn't really sing or dance. He was there after every slushy hit and insult, trying to cheer her up by telling her how one day she'll be a huge star that everyone will envy. She knew you couldn't really control who you developed a crush on, but that didn't stop her from feeling guilty.

"So, why do you keep grinning like that?" Sam asked, pointing at Kurt with a French fry.

"Grinning like what?" Kurt asked, sounding far too high-pitched to be sincere.

"Like that," Sam replied, motioning to his face.

Kurt shrugged. "I have no idea what you are referring to."

Rachel jumped when the bell rang, surprised that lunch was over so quickly. It felt like they had just walked into the cafeteria, but she guessed time just passed quickly while she was lost in her thoughts. Everyone was gathering up their trays and Sam was standing there, probably waiting for her to move since they generally walked to their lockers together. As she stood, Sam grabbed her tray for her and walked over to the garbage can to throw their leftovers away.

"Are you really okay?" Sam asked as he put their trays up.

"Fine," Rachel said absentmindedly.

"You're not getting sick or something, are you?" Sam asked. "Do I need to bring some ice cream and a movie over tonight?"

Rachel smiled at the thought but said, "No, I don't have a cold or anything, and while the thought of you bringing over some of my favorite ice cream and a movie sounds tempting, you should be home."

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Rachel replied. "You should spend the evening with your family."

Today was one of the rare occasions where Sam's mother and father both had the day off from work. They were almost never all home at the same time and she didn't want him coming over to make her feel better when it really wasn't needed.

"Can we talk for a second?" Blaine asked, walking up beside her.

"Sure," Rachel replied, figuring it was something to do with Glee. "I'll see you later, Sam."

"Later, Rach," Sam replied.

Blaine motioning down the hall and Rachel followed him to the choir room. As usual, the room was empty since her fellow Glee members rarely spent time during school to rehearse and Mr. Schue was probably in the teacher's lounge with Miss Pillsbury.

"Okay, what's really going on?" Blaine asked, shutting the door behind them.

"What?" Rachel asked, turning toward him.

"I can tell Kurt knows something, but he won't tell me," Blaine said, sitting down in one of the chairs. "I assume it has something to do with you because of the way he keeps looking at you. I just wanted you to know that you can talk to me about whatever it is. I know Kurt and he has his 'I know a secret' face, which makes me think you two haven't really talked about it, and given Sam's confusion today, he doesn't know either. So, I thought maybe you could use someone to talk to."

Rachel sighed and looked away. She really could use someone to talk to about it, but she and Blaine were not very close. It wasn't that she didn't like him or anything; she simply hadn't spent much time just the two of them. Usually Kurt was with them and he generally talked a lot more than his boyfriend did.

"I promise whatever you say stays between us," Blaine added.

"Okay, say there is something that Kurt may have found out," Rachel began. "This thing—it's something that has been on my mind a lot. I guess I am still coming to terms with it and Kurt somehow figured out what was happening. No one else knows and I would like to keep it a secret because things are already quite complicated."

"What are you saying?" Blaine asked.

Rachel bit her lip for a moment and then blurted out, "I like Quinn."

Blaine stared at her for a moment and his eyebrows rose in surprise. He looked like he was thinking, so Rachel stood in silence as she waited for him to say something. She really didn't mean to say it like she did, but she knew she wasn't making any sense while trying to explain herself.

"I understand what you mean," Blaine finally said. "Sam's your best friend and he obviously has a crush on Quinn."

Rachel sighed as she sat down. "I know."

"What are you going to do?" Blaine asked.

"I don't know," Rachel replied. "I have attempted to ignore it until it goes away, but it seems to be all I can think about. As you said, Sam is my best friend and I don't want things to be weird between us. Plus, I am clearly not Quinn's type, so even if Sam was not a factor, it wouldn't really matter."

"Are you sure about that?" Blaine asked.

"Well, I don't know what else to do; ignoring everything seems like—"

"Not that," Blaine interrupted.

"What then?" Rachel asked, frowned.

Blaine shook his head and smiled. "Never mind. We should probably get to class or we'll be late."

"You really won't discuss this with Kurt?" Rachel asked.

"I promise your secret is safe with me," Blaine replied. "And if you ever want to talk again, I'll be here."

"Thank you." Rachel smiled.

It would be nice to have someone to go to when she felt like she needed to talk to someone about it. She was just surprised Blaine was the one who picked up on the fact that there was something going on.

* * *

"How do you get in here so quickly?" Quinn asked, smiling as she walked into the choir room.

"I apparate," Rachel joked before realizing how nerdy it sounded. "Sorry, Sam and I have been watching Harry Potter recently."

Quinn laughed lightly. "Is that what you did last night?"

"I wish," Rachel replied. "I had to read Macbeth for my English class. We have a test over it on Friday and I have been avoiding studying for it, but I couldn't put it off any longer."

"Not a Shakespeare fan?" Quinn asked.

"Not particularly, no," Rachel admitted. "While I understand his importance and agree that his writing is beautiful, I sometimes have difficulty understanding some of it, which takes away some of the enjoyment for me."

"It does take a little bit to get acclimated with the writing," Quinn remarked.

"Well, hopefully I get acclimated quickly because I should also reread Much Ado About Nothing," Rachel replied with a sigh. "I would much rather prepare something for the Glee assignment, but I believe I am going to have to forego performing this week."

"You could always not rehearse," Quinn suggested.

Rachel gasped. "Never."

"Okay, it was a crazy idea," Quinn said, laughing.

"Speaking of singing, when are you going to get up there and show us what you can do?" Rachel asked.

She was more than curious to hear Quinn sing. She knew the blonde could dance—she had seen her while other people were performing—but she had never really heard Quinn sing other than the few times she had sung along with other people. She couldn't really hear what she sounded like during those times, though. Either way, Rachel was glad Quinn was in Glee—she was definitely one of the better dancers in the club, which could only help them in competitions—but she would really love to hear her singing voice.

"Soon, actually," Quinn replied.

"Really?" Rachel asked.

"I figured I would sing today," Quinn said, shrugging. "One of my favorite songs is from a movie, so I figured it was now or never."

"That's wonderful!" Rachel replied, smiling.

Rachel looked around, surprised that so many people were in the room since she didn't notice any of them walking in. Sam, Santana, Brittany, and Puck were still not there, but the rest of the club was, including Mr. Schue, who was usually perpetually late. She wondered where Sam was since he was usually one of the first ones in the room, but then he walked in several seconds later.

"Hey, guys," Sam said, smiling at them as he came into the room.

"Hello, Sam," Rachel said back.

"Hi," Quinn greeted.

"Okay, let's get started," Mr. Schue said, walking to the front of the group.

"Uh, Mr. Schue," Rachel said, raising her hand.

"Yes, Rachel?" he asked.

"There are still three people that are not here," Rachel said.

"Coach Sylvester came to my office earlier informing me that Santana and Brittany's presence would be required this evening," Mr. Schue replied. "And I'm sure Puck will be here eventually, but I don't see why we should wait to get started."

Rachel didn't argue, though she thought they should wait. Mr. Schue was almost always late and they had to wait for him, so she didn't see why it would hurt to wait a few minutes for Puck.

"Okay, you all know our assignment for the week," Mr. Schue pointed to the whiteboard, which had 'soundtracks' written in red marker, "so who would like to start us off?"

When no one said anything, Rachel wanted to volunteer Quinn, since she was so eager to hear her sing, but she waited patiently. She looked at the blonde, who looked a little pale, and Rachel wondered if she was nervous. Rachel had never personally experienced nerves before singing in front of the club, but she supposed it was to be expected since it was going to be her first time singing.

"You'll be great," Rachel whispered to Quinn.

Quinn glanced at Rachel, smiling, and then raised her hand. "I'd like to sing."

"Alright!" Mr. Schue said, looking excited. "

"This song is from one of my favorite soundtracks, which I sort of stole from my sister when I was nine." Quinn looked down and laughed. "Keep in mind that I've never really sung in front of people before."

Quinn looked up at her and Rachel gave the blonde an encouraging smile as the band began playing the music. Her smile only grew when she recognized the song; the movie was one of her fathers' favorites.

"_Kiss me out of the bearded barley  
__Nightly, beside the green, green grass  
__Swing, swing, swing the spinning step  
__You wear those shoes and I will wear that dress"_

Quinn sounded a little shaky in the beginning, but her confidence seemed to grow as she sang and her voice began to take on a slightly huskier quality.

"_Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight  
__Lead me out on the moonlit floor  
__Lift your open hand  
__Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance  
__Silver moon's sparkling  
__So kiss me"_

Sam was smiling widely beside her and Rachel knew he was enjoying it as much as she was. Quinn wasn't as strong of a singer as she was—then again, Rachel didn't think anyone in the club was—but she thought the blonde had a lovely voice.

"_Kiss me down by the broken tree house  
__Swing me upon its hanging tire  
__Bring, bring, bring your flowered hat  
__We'll take the trail marked on your father's map"_

As Quinn sang the final chorus, she locked eyes with Rachel. The brunette felt like her heart skipped a beat at the intensity of the other girl's hazel eyes. Rachel was the first to look away when she looked at Sam, who looked back at her and smiled.

"_Kiss me beneath the milky twilight  
__Lead me out on the moonlit floor  
__Lift your open hand  
__Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance  
__Silver moon's sparkling  
__So kiss me  
__So kiss me  
__So kiss me  
__So kiss me"_

Rachel clapped loudly as Quinn finished. The blonde looked a little embarrassed at all the attention—especially Sam's cheering—as she walked to sit down next to Rachel.

"That was amazing!" Schue said, clapping. "What a way to start us off! Okay, who wants to go next?"

Rachel turned to look at Quinn and whispered, "I told you you'd be great."

Quinn smiled, blushing slightly, and whispered back, "Thanks."

* * *

**The song Quinn sung was Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer.**

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


	8. Over My Head

**First off, thank you for all the reviews for the last chapter; I would reply to a few of them, but I can't get on the internet at the moment with my laptop to actually see the reviews, and I didn't feel like using my phone for it. Luckily I do have my phone to post this, though, or I would've had to delay it until tomorrow.**

**Enjoy…**

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Over My Head**

When Rachel walked into McKinley High, she sighed as she looked around the hallway. Thanksgiving break went by far too quickly and she was not ready to be back. While most kids looked forward to no school because they got to stay up late and sleep in, Rachel just liked the break from being bullied by her peers. She quite enjoyed being slushy free for five days and not having insults thrown her way on an hourly basis.

As she walked down the hall, she kept her eyes peeled for anyone with a large cup that could be aimed her way. She didn't want to start the week off by having to change her outfit since she quite liked the new dress she was wearing and a slushy would surely stain it. She almost didn't wear it, but she wasn't going to let the students of McKinley dictate what she wore. Besides, what was the point in having it if she never got to wear it?

"Hello, Tina," she said as she walked by the other girl. "How was your Thanksgiving break?"

Tina rolled her eyes. "Horrible. They decided to have Thanksgiving at my house this year, so all my little cousins were running around the house, screaming all weekend. How do kids have so much energy? They would wake me up practically before the sun rose every morning, wanting me to get up and play with them. I swear I'm never having kids."

Rachel laughed. "Sounds more exciting than my break."

"You're lucky," Tina replied. "All I wanted to do was rest, but it was impossible. I didn't even really get to catch up on my homework. What I was working on, my little cousin spilled grape juice all over it, so I had to do my math homework all over again because I couldn't read it." Tina shook her head. "I never thought Thanksgiving break would be more exhausting than school."

"Hey, guys," Sam said, draping his arms over Tina and Rachel's shoulders.

"Hey, Sam," Rachel replied just as the bell rang. "Did you have a good weekend?"

She hadn't talked to Sam in several days; he went with his parents to visit his grandparents and they lived in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone reception. It was weird going for several days without talking to him; they usually saw each other almost every day and even if they didn't, they would usually talk on the phone or text.

"It was alright," Sam said, shrugging. "We played a lot of board games; I kicked everyone's ass at Monopoly, which was awesome, but I really suck at Scrabble."

"That's not your fault," Rachel said, reaching up, and squeezing his hand.

She knew he wasn't very good at spelling because of his dyslexia. She often looked over his papers for him before he turned them in. He really wasn't that great in any subject—he generally got mediocre grades—but English was by far his worst subject. Sam got frustrated a lot when he had to write papers, and Rachel felt bad for him. He tried so hard most of the time just to barely pass some of his classes.

"I should get to class," Rachel said with a sigh.

"Later," Sam said, removing his arm from her shoulder, but still keep his other around Tina.

Rachel walked to her locker to grab her book for her next class; when she shut the door and turned around, Karofsky was headed down the hall with a cup in his hand. Rachel turned and quickly headed for her classroom, where she would be safe. As she walked there, she sent off a quick text to her friends to let them know they should be extra vigilant right now.

When she walked into the room, Quinn was not at their usual table. Rachel was torn between being excited to see Quinn and knowing she shouldn't feel that way. She spent the whole break trying to get Quinn out of her mind and she was mostly successful, but the moment she pulled into the parking lot, the butterflies started up.

During the two weeks preceding Thanksgiving break, she did everything she could to distance herself from the blonde. She still made small talk with her during their class together since it would be rude to ignore her, but she went out of her way to look busy whenever Quinn walked into Glee. Not talking to Quinn wasn't the hardest part, though. The hardest thing was trying to stop herself from looking at Quinn whenever they were in the same room. A lot of time she didn't even realize she was doing it; her eyes would often wander over to Quinn without her even realizing she was staring.

As soon as she sat down, Rachel set her notebook and textbook on the table and then dug around her bag for a pencil. She was beginning to think she had lost it when she finally found it at the bottom of her bag. When she looked up, Quinn was coming into the room, and Rachel quickly looked away.

"Hey," Quinn greeted when she was halfway into the room.

"Hello," Rachel replied.

"I like your dress," Quinn said.

Rachel smiled and felt herself blushing. "Thank you."

Quinn sat down on her stool. "How was your break?"

"It was rather uneventful," Rachel answered. "Dad and Daddy attempted to make dinner."

"Attempted?" Quinn said, raising her eyebrows.

"My fathers cannot cook; we ended up ordering Chinese food," Rachel replied, causing Quinn to laugh. "It was sweet that they tried, but they're lucky they didn't burn the kitchen down."

"What do you usually do for it?" Quinn asked.

"We normally go to my grandmother's house, but she just had surgery and having guests would have been too much for her right now," Rachel replied. What about you? Did you have a good break?"

Quinn shrugged. "My sister and her husband came for a few days and we had the typical dinner. At least this year it didn't end with me and Frannie getting into an argument."

"Oh?" Rachel replied. "Does that happen a lot?"

Quinn shrugged. "I guess. We're complete opposites, so we generally disagree over everything. My parents used to be a lot like her, but they've changed a bit in the past few years."

Rachel nodded; she wanted to ask about it, but she thought it might be overstepping a bit. Plus, she was trying to keep their interactions to small talk and she had the feeling it was definitely not small talk conversation. So, Rachel stayed quiet and looked to the front of the room, though her mind was still firmly on Quinn.

* * *

"C'mon, guys, I know you can do this!" Mr. Schue said. "We just have to stay focused and work hard!"

"Maybe we shouldn't have waited until five days before Sectionals to learn the dance," Kurt mumbled nearby.

Rachel nodded in agreement; Sectionals was Saturday and they were just going over their choreography for the first time. She would never understand why her teacher waited until the last minute every time. Every other club had probably perfected their routines by now. It was ridiculous to her that they were just going over it for the first time after only today learning what songs they were going to be singing. Rachel was just happy that they were doing Michael Jackson songs. While she wasn't the biggest fan, she knew the judges would love it, and it was certainly better than some of their past competition songs.

"Okay, let's try it again," Mr. Schue said.

Rachel watched their teacher, trying to follow along, but some of her fellow Glee members were distracting her. Puck was just standing there, not even trying to dance, and Santana had her arms crossed over her chest, looking unhappy. That wasn't unusual, though; she seemed to perpetually have a scowl on her face.

"This dance sucks," Puck said, throwing his hands up.

"Maybe if you would actually participate, you wouldn't think it sucked so much," Rachel replied.

Why don't you—"

"Dude," Sam interrupted. "Chill."

"Yeah, like that's going to help a damn thing," Puck replied. "Even the Puckzilla can't make this dance cool."

"How would you know?" Mercedes asked. "Your lazy ass ain't even trying to do it."

"I don't have to to see that it sucks," Puck replied.

"There's nothing wrong with the dance," Tina quietly said.

"No one asked you, freak," Puck replied.

"Don't talk to her like that," Mike said, scowling at Puck.

"What are you gonna do?" Puck asked.

"Okay, five minute break!" Mr. Schue loudly said.

"We just had a break," Kurt said, rolling his eyes.

"This is gonna be a fun evening," Sam said, running his hand through his hair.

"Is it always like this?" Quinn asked, walking up to them.

"Yes," Rachel, Sam, and Kurt all replied in unison.

"Usually Puck or Santana pick a fight with one of us," Kurt continued. "And then they insult us, sometimes threating us, and Mr. Schue calls a break because he doesn't know how to deal with the divide between the club." Kurt rolled his eyes. "You'd think he would take a class or something and learn to be an actual teacher."

"He is rather ineffective when it comes to conflict," Rachel commented.

"Understatement," Sam replied.

"He does seem a little—"

"Pathetic," Kurt supplied.

"Watch it Frankenteen!" Santana suddenly said, and Rachel looked over just in time to see her pushing Finn. "If you step all over me with those clown feet again I will ends you."

"It was an accident!" Finn said back.

"So it's okay if you break my toe?" Santana asked, shoving him.

"I didn't break your toe," Finn said, frowning at her.

"You walk around like you're so cool because you throw a ball around, but could you be a bigger loser?" Santana asked. "You can't dance without almost killing someone and I'm afraid your flab is going to take Britts out."

"What's gotten into her?" Sam whispered.

"I don't know," Rachel said, frowning.

Santana was usually hostile, but she saved most of that hostility for Rachel and her friends. She had never seen the Cheerio go off on one of her group the way she was and Rachel wondered if there was something going on that she didn't know about. The girl continued to rant at Finn while everyone else stood around awkwardly, including Mr. Schue, who didn't look as if he was going to do anything about it.

"Um, Santana, I know Finn stepped on your toe, but—"

"Who asked you to speak, Berry," Santana said, effectively silencing Rachel.

"I think she's just saying that it happened, but it was an accident, so maybe you should cut him some slack," Quinn added.

"Who asked you?" Santana said, narrowing her eyes at Quinn.

"Stop taking your unhappiness out on every else!" Finn yelled. "Just because Brittany doesn't love you, it doesn't mean you have to take it out on us!"

Rachel gasped. "Finn!"

"Oh no he didn't," Mercedes said, gawking at him.

"Okay, I think we should all just calm down," Blaine said, walking up, and standing between them. "We're all on the same team here and we have Sectionals this weekend. Let's just focus on that, okay?"

"You're wrong," Brittany quietly said. "I love San."

Everyone looked at Brittany, but no one seemed to know what to say. It was the first time Brittany and Santana's relationship had been publicly acknowledged, though everyone knew about it. Santana was glaring furiously at Finn, and after a few seconds, she turned and walked down the steps. Rachel watched as she hurried down the aisle, heading for the auditorium door. Brittany followed after her a few moments later, running to try to catch up with her.

"Way to go," Kurt said.

"Finn, I am very disappointed in you," Mr. Schue said, looking at the boy. "I want everyone back here after the final bell tomorrow and I want everyone prepared to work."

"Well, this was a massive waste of time," Kurt said, sighing as he grabbed his bag.

"Should we do something about Santana?" Blaine asked.

Kurt looked at his boyfriend with his eyebrow raised. "Would _you_ want to be the one to find her right now?"

"I just mean that she's probably upset right now," Blaine said, shrugging.

"Dude, I don't think anyone would wanna be around Santana right now," Sam replied. "Upset Santana's gotta be way worse than normal Santana."

"He's right, sweetie," Kurt said, grabbing Blaine's arm. "There's nothing we can do."

Blaine sighed but nodded. "We'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Hey, can I talk to you a second," Quinn said to Rachel.

"Okay," Rachel replied before following Quinn to the side of the stage.

"I was hoping you would help me," Quinn said. "I know I'm not the best singer and I'm really nervous about Sectionals, so I was wondering if you would help me with it."

"You want me to help you with your singing?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," Quinn replied.

Rachel was hesitant to say yes—she didn't think it would be a good idea for her to spend unnecessary time alone with Quinn—but winning Sectionals was important. If this would make Quinn feel more confident going into the competition, she didn't see how she could say no.

"Sure," Rachel said after a few moments of hesitation. "How about tomorrow after we rehearse?"

"Perfect." Quinn smiled. "Thanks, Rach."

Rachel sighed; it was proving to be more difficult to stay away from Quinn than she thought it would be.

* * *

After grabbing a few books from her locker, Rachel headed down the empty hallway for the bathroom. The moment she walked into the restroom, she heard the sounds of crying and stopped in her tracks. Only one stall door was closed so she bent down to look beneath the door. She instantly recognized the shoes as those that the Cheerios wore and she knew it must be Santana on the other side of the door. Her first instinct was to turn around and leave—Sam was probably right about an upset Santana being bad—but, instead, she knocked lightly on the door.

"Santana," Rachel quietly said.

There was a sniffle and the Santana's caustic voice saying, "Go away."

"Where's Brittany?" Rachel wondered.

The door flew open, nearly hitting Rachel in the face. "What part of 'go away' didn't you understand, hobbit?"

"Finn was a jerk," Rachel said, hoping Santana didn't get violent with her for continuing to talk. "Even if you were saying some not so nice things, he shouldn't have said what he said to you."

Santana scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Like I care."

"So, you're crying the bathroom for no reason?" Rachel asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I'm not crying," Santana said, obviously lying since her cheeks were still slightly wet from her tears.

"Okay," Rachel said, not arguing about it. "Well, whether or not it upset you, Finn shouldn't have said it. Anyone can see that Brittany loves you and you love her. I know Finn isn't the brightest, but I'm sure even he can see it. He just wanted to hurt you, so he said the one thing he probably thought would get to you."

"He didn't," Santana replied.

"I'm not saying he did," Rachel quickly said. "I'm just saying Finn probably reasoned that it would hurt you."

Rachel didn't think there was anything else she could say, so she nodded once and turned to leave the room, but she stopped when Santana asked, "Does everyone know?"

Rachel turned to face her again. "Does everyone know what?"

"About me and Britts," Santana said, locking eyes with Rachel through the mirror.

"I think most people suspect," Rachel replied. "At least everyone in Glee, anyway. I don't exactly talk to anyone outside of the club to know how the rest of the school views your relationship."

Rachel turned, this time opening the door and leaving the room. When she walked into the hallway, she saw Brittany at the other end, looking into one of the classrooms. She then walked to the next door, checking the knob, and looking in the window.

"Have you seen Santana?" Brittany asked, walking toward her once she noticed Rachel standing there.

"She's in the bathroom," Rachel replied.

Brittany gave her a sad smile. "Thanks."

Rachel sighed as Brittany walked into the bathroom; this was not how she expected her day to go. She wondered if Santana would retaliate tomorrow for Rachel seeing her vulnerable, but she really didn't care. Rachel wasn't the type of person to leave someone crying in a bathroom, even if it was her worst enemy—which Santana probably was.

She walked out of the school and into the mostly empty parking lot. There were only a few cars around and they were all from members of the Glee club, who hadn't pulled out of the parking lot yet. She saw Sam with Blaine and Kurt by the latter's SUV and walked over to them.

"I thought you had already left," she commented.

"We were talking about Santana," Blaine replied.

"Yeah, her car's still here," Sam pointed out. "She must still be here somewhere."

"I know," Rachel replied. "I just saw her."

"I'm sure that was a fun experience," Kurt remarked.

"Surprisingly, it was probably the most civil she has ever been to me," Rachel said.

Kurt's eyebrows rose. "I'm surprised. I figured the first person she encountered other than Brittany would regret ever going near her."

"Maybe she'll take her wrath out on Finn," Sam said, shrugging. "If I were him, I'd probably hide the rest of the week."

"He would be smart to hide for the rest of his life," Kurt replied. "Hopefully she doesn't find him tonight and ruin dinner."

Sam frowned and looked at Kurt. "Huh?"

"Kurt's dad and Finn's mom have been going out," Blaine explained.

"We're all having dinner tonight at Breadstix," Kurt added.

"How did that happen?" Sam asked.

"They met at the grocery store last month and started talking," Kurt answered. "Finn isn't too happy about it."

"How do you feel about it?" Rachel asked.

Kurt sighed. "I've never seen my dad this happy and Carole's nice, but I don't know how I would feel about Finn being my stepbrother if things were to progress. Of course I should be in New York by then, so I won't have to share a house with him."

Rachel imagined it would be hard for Kurt to live with Finn. It would be like her having to suddenly share a house with Santana. Finn had been bullying him for years, throwing him in garbage bins and tossing slushies at him. He wasn't nearly as bad as Puck or go to the lengths that his friend did, but he was far from innocent.

"Speaking of which, I should get home," Kurt said. "Carole wants to look nice tonight and asked me to come over and give her a bit of a makeover."

"Later, guys," Sam said.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Blaine said, smiling at them.

"So, Santana really didn't do anything to you?" Sam asked as Kurt and Blaine got in the SUV.

"No," Rachel replied.

Sam hummed. "Weird."

Rachel wasn't going to tell anyone that she saw Santana crying. Partly because she didn't want Santana doing anything to her if she found out and partly because, for the first time in her life, Rachel actually felt sorry for the Cheerio.

* * *

Rachel nervously tapped her fingers against her thigh as she walked to the auditorium. Despite the fact that Sectionals were in less than a week, Mr. Schue cancelled rehearsals for the evening. She was still meeting Quinn, though, just earlier than she thought. She asked Sam if he wanted to come along so she wouldn't be alone with Quinn, but he reluctantly turned the invite down, so he could go watch his brother and sister.

When she walked into the auditorium, Quinn was sitting at the edge of the stage, her feet swinging back and forth. She smiled at the sight, thinking how cute Quinn looked, but she quickly shook her head. That was the exact type of thing she shouldn't be thinking and the reason she wanted Sam there. Whenever the three of them were in the same room, it was easier to remember why Quinn was off limits.

"Sorry I'm late," Rachel said when Quinn looked her way.

"Four whole minutes? I think I forgive you," Quinn replied, smiling

"Nevertheless, I am late, and it would be rude of me not to apologize," Rachel said, shrugging.

Rachel walked down the aisle and could feel Quinn's eyes on her the whole way as if the blonde was studying her. Rachel ignored it, though, and tried not to look back. She was here to help Quinn with her singing and that was all. She was going to keep conversation to a minimum, only speaking when it was necessary. It's what she had been trying to do for the past few weeks, but during those times she wasn't completely alone with Quinn. Even before she found herself slipping and engaging Quinn in conversation; she had a feeling this situation was going to make it much harder not to talk to her.

"Did I do something wrong?" Quinn suddenly asked, causing Rachel to stop in her tracks.

"Excuse me?" Rachel said, looking up at her.

"You've been kind of—distant lately," Quinn said, shrugging.

Rachel opened and closed her mouth; for a brief second she wondered if Quinn could read her mind, but then she realized that was preposterous. "No, you haven't done anything."

"Are you sure?" Quinn asked. "Because I started realizing that you don't really talk to me anymore, and all the times you do talk to me, it's because I started talking to you first."

"Really? I haven't noticed," Rachel lied.

"I've actually been testing my theory during physics," Quinn continued. "You'll say hi, but unless I start talking to you, you never say anything else." Quinn shrugged. "Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I feel like something had changed. You always used to talk about your parents and singing and Sam. We're friends, right? You would tell me if I did something to upset you?"

Rachel really didn't know what to say. Half the time she figured Quinn was only talking to her to be nice, but she didn't think the blonde would be bringing it up if that was the case.

"I suppose I've just had a lot on my mind lately with Sectionals coming up," Rachel replied, not knowing what else to say. "I promise you, Quinn, I am not upset with you. You have been nothing but nice to me."

Quinn nodded as she stood up, and Rachel sighed. Clearly her plan of distancing herself from Quinn by not talking to her wasn't going to work. She'd never anticipated Quinn noticing, but now that she had, Rachel didn't feel like she could keep doing it. Quinn had done absolutely nothing wrong and Rachel didn't her want her thinking she had.

"I'm sorry if I made you think you did something wrong," Rachel said as she watched Quinn carefully. "That was never my intention."

"What was your intention, then?" Quinn asked, raising her eyebrow.

"I—" Rachel faltered. Quinn was looking at her so intently that Rachel felt like she would see right through any lie she told, but she couldn't tell her the truth.

Quinn's face softened as she sighed. "Forget I asked, okay? It doesn't really matter. Just—you're my only friend here, so if there ever is anything wrong, can you let me know?"

Rachel nodded, feeling guiltier than ever. Now, not only did she like the girl her best friend liked, but she had Quinn thinking she had done something wrong. She just hoped the blonde believed her when she said she had done nothing to upset her. Right now, Rachel felt like she was between a rock and a hard place and she had no idea how to get out.


	9. Too Blind to See It

**Chapter 9 –Too Blind to See It**

Rachel stared out the window while Sam continued talking about some movie she didn't catch the title of. Every now and then she would respond with a vague reply, but she was only half listening. She felt terrible—this was her best friend that she was essentially ignoring—but her mind was elsewhere. She was on her way to Sectionals and if they messed this up, her dreams of winning Nationals would be over. Rehearsals hadn't been going very well and she was worried they wouldn't be able to pull it together to win the competition.

"Rachel? Rach?"

Rachel looked at Sam, realizing she must have completely zoned out. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was just—" Sam frowned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Rachel replied.

It was her automatic response any time someone inquired how she was doing, which seemed to be happening a lot lately. The stress of everything—specifically Glee Club—was beginning to get to her. After the blowup with Santana and Finn during their first rehearsal, things had only gone downhill. The two had been at each other's throats since that day. Now, not only was the club divided between the popular and unpopular students, but they were being further divided by Santana and Finn's feud. It was causing a major distraction for the club—one that they couldn't afford so close to a major competition.

"No, you're not," Sam said, furrowing his brows. "You keep saying you are, but I can tell something's up."

"I'm just nervous about Sectionals," Rachel replied.

"You're sure that's all?" Sam asked.

Rachel hesitated for a moment before saying, "Yes."

It was a lie, but she couldn't tell him what else had been on her mind lately. Well, it was that she _couldn't_, but she didn't want to risk anything being weird between them. Also, she would rather keep her crush to herself and minimize the chances of Quinn finding out. It was bad enough that Blaine knew and Kurt suspected.

"Wanna come over tonight and celebrate us winning?" Sam asked.

Rachel smiled; she appreciated his optimism. "I would, but my dads have a dinner planned. I'm sure you could join us if you want."

"I can't," Sam said with a sigh. "I promised Stacey I'd be home tonight. She's been bugging me about not being there because of rehearsals."

"Maybe tomorrow," Rachel offered.

Sam smiled. "Cool."

"Guys, stay in your seats!" Mr. Schue said from the front of the bus.

Rachel looked over her shoulder to find Puck standing up at the back of the bus. Despite Mr. Schue's instruction, he didn't look as if he was going to sit down anytime soon. In fact, he had a smirk on his face, which usually meant he was up to no good. Rachel could only hope she was not his intended target for whatever he had planned. She continued watching him as he leaned down and said something to Brittany and Santana. The latter rolled her eyes and shoved Puck into his seat. When Santana turned back around, she locked eyes with Rachel. Instead of getting a vulgar reaction like she would normally expect from the Cheerio, Santana looked away.

Things had definitely been strange with Santana ever since their talk in the bathroom. The other girl was by no means being nice to her, but the name calling and taunts had dropped significantly. Rachel had expected retaliation for seeing Santana crying and daring to speak to her, but it had yet to come. She wondered if Santana was trying to lull her into a false sense of security; whatever the case may be, Rachel's guard was always up when it came to the Cheerio. She may have been slushy free for the past week, but she expected them to make up for it any day now. As she turned around, she caught Quinn's eyes; the blonde gave her a smile and Rachel felt her cheeks warm. She smiled back—she didn't want to be rude—and then quickly turned to look at the front of the bus.

"Okay, I think I'm getting nervous now," Sam said, drumming his fingers against his leg. "I don't think I remember the words."

"You will be fine," Rachel assured him. "And you know all the words; you did wonderful earlier."

"What if I trip like I did this morning?" Sam asked.

"That wasn't your fault," Rachel replied. "Finn wasn't on his mark."

"But what if it happened again?" Sam asked.

Rachel knew that was a very real possibility. "Just don't worry about it. Everything is going to go perfectly and we're going to bring that first place trophy home for the third consecutive year."

She hoped what she was saying was true; she certainly wanted to believe it. She just knew one of them needed to stay positive. It would be bad if they were both panicking.

"You're right," Sam said, taking a deep breath. "We'll be awesome."

"Exactly," Rachel replied.

She _really_ wanted to believe it. She and Sam were the main vocalists for their first song, so if he forgot the words, it would be a disaster. She had confidence in him, though; he sounded wonderful during their final rehearsal, and she didn't doubt that he would do just as well during their actual performance. His tripping was just an unfortunate circumstance of Finn not being where he was supposed to be. She just had to believe that wouldn't happen again because if she was too busy worrying about Finn and Sam, it would make _her_ more likely to mess up.

* * *

Rachel took a deep breath and then slowly released it, repeating the action several times in an attempt at calming her nerves. She had never been this nervous before a competition, but they had never been quite this ill prepared before. Rehearsals were almost always left to the last minute, but they had even less time than usual, and she knew it was going to show. She didn't like how complacent Mr. Schue was getting; they were good, but their competition was also good, and one bad performance would end their dreams of winning Nationals.

Rachel took a few steps forward, but then an arm wrapped around her from behind and Sam said, "Don't start that again. You're making me dizzy watching you walk around."

"Sorry," she said, smiling as she leaned back into Sam.

"You'll be awesome," he said, squeezing her slightly.

"I know I'll be awesome; it's everyone else I'm worried about," Rachel joked.

Sam laughed just as Mr. Schue said, "Okay, everyone, we're on in five minutes."

"We can do this," Rachel said, taking a deep breath.

"Oh, I think I'm going to be sick," Kurt said from nearby.

"Don't be," Blaine replied, rubbing his shoulders. "We've got this."

She looked around and everyone appeared worried with the exception of Puck, but that was probably because he didn't care if they won or lost. Since their very first appearance at Sectionals, this was the first time she had seen the group like this. They were usually confidant, bordering on overconfident, but she could see the whole group was nervous. She just hoped if they made it through this round that the rest of the club would demand more preparation for Regionals. She always suggested it, but usually no one but Sam and a few others would back her up, so nothing ever came of it.

"You should get ready," Rachel told Sam.

He nodded and let her go, running off to the side, where the guys were supposed to stand. Taking another deep breath, Rachel looked down and smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles out of her skirt. She could hear their competitor's song coming to an end; this was usually the time she would get excited at the thought of stepping out onto the stage and performing for a large crowd, but the nerves were still firmly in place.

"Hey."

She turned to look at Quinn as she slowly exhaled. "Hello. How are you feeling?"

"To be honest, like I'm going to throw up," Quinn said with a laugh. "I've never done this in front of so many people before. I'm definitely regretting letting Mr. Schue give me those solos."

"You were wonderful earlier and I'm confident you will be equally wonderful tonight," Rachel assured her. "You voice is perfect for the introduction of Control, and I have complete faith in you."

Quinn looked down as she smiled. "Tuesday certainly helped, and if I make it through this, I'll definitely owe you."

"Win or not, you will not owe me anything," Rachel replied. "Even though I have had extensive vocal training, it is rare for anyone to ask for my expertise, so I was glad I could finally help someone. Besides, you were doing quite well on your own, so I don't know how much of a help I really was."

"More than you know," Quinn said.

Rachel fought off a blush, which had been a common occurrence recently. Quinn was always complimenting her in one way or another and Rachel was not very used to that from anyone. She knew how to handle insults, but she had yet to learn how to take a compliment. Especially not one that came from Quinn. If she didn't know any better, she would think that the other girl was flirting with her, but the idea seemed too preposterous to think about.

"Do you have any plans tonight for when we win?" Quinn asked.

"Dad and Daddy are making dinner," Rachel replied. "Well, one of them will order takeout, anyway. Then we will most likely watch a musical and discuss what it will be like when I'm staring on Broadway." Rachel ducked her head. "I know it's a little lame, but it's just something we do sometimes."

Quinn shrugged. "I think it's nice that your parents encourage you to follow your dreams. Plus, it sounds more fun than my plans."

"I imagine you're going to Noah's party," Rachel remarked. "I just don't know why he pretends it's celebrating our competition win. He only ever invites Mike, Finn, Brittany, and Santana. It's just another excuse to throw a party, so why act like it's for Glee?"

"I don't want to go, but I promised Brittany," Quinn said. "She thinks Santana is sad and that the party will help somehow. It's really hard to say no to her; I tried, but I thought she was going to start crying."

"She is rather skilled at getting people to do what she wants," Rachel replied, looking at Santana.

"I even told her I'd think about joining the Cheerios," Quinn said with a sigh.

Rachel frowned. "Oh."

She didn't like the idea of Quinn joining the cheerleading squad. She was afraid it would change her since it seemed to have that effect on people. She just didn't like the thought of Quinn becoming one of _them_—even more entrenched with the students who bullied her on a daily basis.

"You sound excited about it," Quinn said, nudging Rachel with her hand.

"I just—" Rachel didn't really know what to say.

"Hate the Cheerios?" Quinn said.

"I don't hate anyone," Rachel corrected. "They're just—not known for being very nice."

Quinn smiled, verging on a smirk. "Do you think I would suddenly become a bitch to you or something?"

"Not necessarily," Rachel said, looking down.

"I can promise that will never happen," Quinn vowed softly. "Cheerio or not, we're friends."

Rachel glanced up and nodded before quickly looking away. Quinn was looking at her so intently that Rachel felt like she could see right through her. She knew she couldn't actually do that, but it was still a little unnerving to be under her gaze.

"Okay, guys, we're on!" Mr. Schue announced. "Everyone get ready!"

Rachel nerved returned full force; while talking to Quinn, she had completely forgotten what she was about to do. She looked at Sam and he gave her a thumbs up. She smiled at her friend, giving him a nod, and telling herself over and over that they were going to win this and advance to Regionals. Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a hand hold onto hers, and she looked to her left to find Quinn smiling softly at her.

"You're going to be wonderful," Quinn stated.

As she heard the New Directions being announced, she gave Quinn a grateful smile because coming from Quinn, she believed it. The blonde smiled back, squeezing her hand, and as quickly as it happened, she let go.

* * *

The bus ride from Sectionals was much more boisterous than the one to the competition. Rachel, however, was just a subdued. The nervousness was gone, but it was replaced with something else—something she couldn't quite pinpoint. They had won Sectionals and she knew she should be excited right now, but she just wasn't. The moment it was announced that they had received first place, her mind immediately went to Regionals. She knew they only squeaked by this time and they couldn't afford to do that again.

"Cheer up," Sam said, nudging her. "We won!"

Rachel sighed. "I know, and I'm happy about it, but—"

"No buts," Sam said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, and pulling her closer. "Don't worry about stuff so much. You should be celebrating; you can worry about everything else tomorrow."

"You're right," Rachel replied, putting on a smile that wasn't quite sincere.

"Hey, Sam!" Artie said from further up the bus, waving him over.

"Go on," Rachel said, reaching up to squeeze his hand.

"You sure you'll be okay?" Sam asked

"I appreciate your concern, but I will be perfectly fine," Rachel replied. "Now, go so you don't keep Artie waiting any longer."

Sam grinned at her. "I'll be back."

Rachel couldn't help but laugh at his Terminator impression, which made Sam smile even wider. With a squeeze of her shoulder, he stood up, and walked down the aisle to Artie, Mercedes Tina, and Kurt. They were all laughing, clearly on a high from their win, and Rachel really wished she could feel like that right now.

As she was watching her friends, she felt the seat dip down next to her, and when she looked to the side, Santana was occupying the space. She was sitting there with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face. Rachel stiffened at the sight, preparing herself for whatever the other girl was about to do or say. The longer Santana made her wait, the more curious and frightened she became.

"Can I help you, Santana," Rachel eventually asked Santana when she couldn't take the silence any longer.

"Don't talk," Santana demanded. "Just listen."

"You're not speaking, so what am I supposed to listen to?" Rachel asked.

Santana narrowed her eyes. "I thought I told you to stop talking."

Rachel huffed, crossed her arms, and slumped in her seat. She didn't like being told what to do, but she also didn't want to anger the Cheerio. She was unpleasant enough on her good days.

"I don't like you," Santana stated.

Rachel rolled her eyes and mumbled, "I wasn't aware."

"But you didn't open your big mouth about—you know," Santana continued. "So—whatever."

Santana stood up and walked away, leaving Rachel frowning in her seat. Santana willingly talked to her and left the insults to a minimum, which had to be a first. The only thing she could figure was that it was the other girl's way of thanking her without actually saying it—or saying much of anything, really. Considering it _was_ Santana, it was more than Rachel ever expected.

Blaine looked over his shoulder at her and frowned. "What was that about?"

"Who knows?" Rachel lied with a shrug.

"Are you okay?" Blaine asked, turning so his back was against the window.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Rachel asked.

"You've just seemed really distracted lately like something is bothering you," Blaine replied before lowering his voice. "Is it about that thing we talked about?"

"Partly," Rachel admitted. "Maybe a little more than partly."

"How is it going?" Blaine asked.

Rachel looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before turning back to Blaine. "Well, I was doing my best to distance myself from her, but that only made her think she had done something wrong, so that's no longer an option."

"You know, maybe that's a good thing," Blaine replied. "Maybe you shouldn't ignore your feelings."

Rachel sighed. "I don't see how any good can come from this situation."

Blaine glanced to the other side of the bus and then looked at her again. "Have you ever thought your feelings could be mutual?"

"What would ever make you think that?" Rachel asked.

"Because I see the way she looks at you," Blaine replied. "I think you see it, too, but you won't let yourself think about it because then you'll have a choice to make. She's coming over here, by the way." Blaine gave her a knowing look. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to see what Kurt is up to."

As Blaine walked away, Quinn stopped beside Rachel's seat and asked, "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," Rachel answered. "I don't think Sam is going to be back anytime soon."

"I really expected you to be more excited about winning," Quinn commented as she took a seat.

"I think what I'm feeling right now is relief," Rachel said, shaking her head. "I really thought with how terrible rehearsals were going that we may not win. I just glad all the drama didn't derail my dreams of Nationals."

"Maybe the excitement will come later," Quinn remarked.

Rachel smiled. "Hopefully."

"Santana—when she came up here, she didn't do anything to you, did she?" Quinn asked.

"No," Rachel replied. "For her, she was very civil."

"Good," Quinn said, looking away.

"I never thought I would say this, but I feel a bit bad for her," Rachel admitted. "Of course now she knows a little bit what it's like when she says the things she says to the rest of us. I don't agree with what he did, but I do understand why Finn lashed out, and I really can't blame him. Sometimes you can only take so much. I just wish they had picked a better time to have their little spat."

"Yeah, what they both did was pretty crappy," Quinn agreed.

Rachel cleared her throat. "I should have told you earlier, but you did a wonderful job performing today."

Quinn smiled. "Thank you, but _you_ were wonderful—I did okay. I have no doubt you'll be on Broadway in a few years. You're—you're amazing."

Rachel tried not to blush as she said, "Thank you."

"I was thinking about—"

"Rachel!"

Rachel blew out a breath as she looked at Sam; he waved her over and she held up a finger to tell him to give her a moment.

"What were you going to say?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shook her head. "It was nothing." Quinn smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You should go to your friends."

"You are my friend," Rachel found herself saying. "Come with me."

"It's okay," Quinn said, shrugging.

Rachel sighed softly but nodded, and Quinn stood so she could get out of the seat. As she walked down the aisle, she looked back and locked eyes with Quinn. She couldn't help but wonder if Blaine was right about Quinn and right about her being too afraid to let herself think of the possibility.

* * *

The moment Rachel walked into her house, her fathers came rushing into the foyer. As she glanced over her shoulder, they were both smiling, but when she closed the door and turned around, Hiram's face dropped.

"Oh no," Hiram said, putting his hands to his mouth.

"You lost," Leroy said, aghast.

"Those judges clearly don't know talent and have no business judging a show choir competition," Hiram stated.

"We won," Rachel said, interrupting them before they could continue.

"You won?" Hiram repeated with a frown.

"So, why do you look like someone told you Barbra Streisand has permanently lost her voice?" Leroy asked.

"He's right," Hiram agreed. "We thought the reason you've been acting so—off lately was because of Sectionals, but now I'm just concerned." He put his hand on her forehead. "Have you been feeling ill?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, it's nothing like that."

"Well, then what is it?" Leroy asked.

Rachel looked at her fathers' worried faces and asked, "Can we sit down?"

"Sit down?" Hiram asked. "This must be bad. Oh, you're not pregnant, are you?!"

"No!" Rachel immediately said, her eyes widening.

Leroy blew out a breath. "Thank god."

"There's nothing for you two to worry about," Rachel said. "I would simply rather not have this discussion while standing in the foyer."

Leroy nodded and walked into the living room; Hiram and Rachel followed closely behind. She took a seat in the armchair while they sat on the couch together. Despite what she said, they both still looked very worried. She had thought about this conversation with them multiple times, but now that she was here, everything she had previous thought of sounded inadequate.

"Sweetie, are you hoping to give your fathers a heart attack?" Leroy asked.

"Sorry," Rachel said, ducking her head.

"Just tell us what's going on," Hiram softly said. "You know we're here for you no matter what."

Rachel took a deep breath. "I've had a lot on my mind lately due to—someone."

"There's a someone?" Leroy asked. "A someone you—like?"

"Yes," Rachel said.

Hiram nodded. "So you've been distracted by a boy." He frowned. "It's not that football player again, is it? Or Noah Puckerman. Please tell me it's not Noah Puckerman."

Rachel cleared her throat. "It's not Finn or Noah." Rachel closed her eyes. "The problem is that Sam also likes this someone."

There was complete silence and Rachel opened her eyes to find them both looking at her. Finally, Hiram broke the silence by asking, "Sam's gay?"

Leroy rolled his yes. "Honey I don't think that's what she is saying."

"Oh," Hiram replied, frowning before his eyes grew wide. "Oh!"

"Is it that Quinn girl?" Leroy asked.

"Yes," Rachel replied.

"Well, I can see why that would be a problem," Leroy stated. "Sam talks about her every time he's here."

Rachel sighed. "I know."

"But you've only ever shown interest in guys," Hiram interjected.

"I don't think that's necessarily the thing she wants to discuss at the moment," Leroy stated.

"Why don't you seem all that surprised?" Hiram asked.

"Well, Sam isn't the only one that had talked a lot about Quinn," Leroy replied. "I've had my suspicions for a little while, but I didn't want to say anything. I figured it was our daughter's business, and if she wanted to discuss it, she would come to us. Which she now has."

Hiram huffed. "You still could have given me a hint."

"Honey," Leroy said, giving him a look.

"Sorry," Hiram replied. "I'm obviously not upset, but I am a little surprised. Give me a moment to properly digest this information."

Rachel couldn't help but smile fondly at her fathers. She couldn't imagine being raised by anyone else; they were always so loving and accepting of everything that she was never afraid of things like this. She had never discussed her sexuality with them because it had never really come up, but she always knew it wouldn't be an issue when she finally did.

"Does Quinn like Sam?" Leroy asked, looking back to Rachel.

"I don't know," Rachel replied, looking down.

"Does she like you?" Leroy inquired.

Rachel fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. "I don't know. Blaine seems to be under the impression that my feelings could be mutual, though."

Leroy looked at her sympathetically. "What are you going to do?"

Rachel sighed again and put her head in her hands. "I don't know."

* * *

**Okay, soon the updates may be coming a little less quickly. I have a full time job now and it's been difficult to find any time to write. Once I get settled in better, I might be able to write a little more, but as it is, I can't seem to find the time. So, updates might go to every other week instead of updating 2 weeks in a row and then taking a week off. Hopefully this doesn't happen, but this is a heads up to let you all know that it's a possibility.**

**As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	10. Thank You

**Woops, I almost forgot to post this tonight.**

* * *

**Chapter 10 – Thank You**

"One of these days, people are going to cheer when we come in," Kurt said, wistfully.

"Keep dreaming," Sam retorted. "That'll never happen."

"Sam's probably correct," Rachel replied. "I believe it would take a miracle for anyone at this school to care about us winning any competition, even Nationals."

"Out of my way, lumps," Santana said as she came down the hall, ramming her shoulder into Finn.

"I see those two still haven't made up," Kurt commented as he leaned against a locker. "I tried to tell him he should apologize, but I don't think he's going to take my advice."

"I wouldn't if I was him," Sam replied. "I mean, yeah it was a low blow, but she says a lot of crap to everyone and just expects us to take it and not say anything back."

"I do think they are both wrong," Rachel stated. "He should never have outed her like that; yes, we all know about her and Brittany, but I still think it was wrong. And of course I always think Santana is wrong with the way she disparages everyone."

Sam looked at Kurt and frowned. "Wait, since when you do and Finn talk about things?"

"We don't," Kurt replied, picking a bit of lint off his shirt. "Not really, anyway. He and Carole came over for dinner yesterday, so things come up."

"Your parents dating has gotta feel weird," Sam said.

"I'll admit I wasn't very fond of the idea in the beginning," Kurt replied. "I think that was mostly due to the idea of Finn being around; I didn't exactly like the idea of having dinner with someone who has thrown me into dumpsters and stuck my head in a toilet. Carole is nice, though, and I don't think I've ever seen my dad this happy."

"Do you think they will get married?" Rachel asked.

Kurt scrunched his nose. "I really don't want to think about Finn being my stepbrother."

"I can't really—Sam, are you okay?" Rachel said, distracted by the look on her best friend's face.

"Oh my god," Sam said, looking down the hall.

Rachel frowned and looked over her shoulder to see what had Sam's attention. It didn't take her long to spot what it was—or more precisely, who. Quinn was walking down the hall in their direction, but she wasn't dressed in her usual attire. This time, she had on the red, white, and black uniform that generally put fear into Rachel every time she saw it coming her way. Her frown only deepened at the sight of Quinn in the Cheerios uniform and her heart pounded uncomfortably in her chest.

She would be lying if she said Quinn didn't look good in the uniform; she'd never had a thing for any of the cheerleaders of McKinley, but Quinn wore it well. She was just afraid of what might come along with it. She didn't like the idea of Quinn changing because of it; she liked who Quinn was and the thought of her turning into someone like Santana made her queasy.

By the time Rachel realized she was staring at Quinn far too long, the blonde was passing by her. She looked away and then glanced back to find Quinn smiling at her; Rachel smiled back and Quinn walked on. Sam was still staring after the other girl, but Kurt was looking at Rachel with a smirk on his face. She rolled her eyes and looked away, ignoring him.

"Whoa," Sam said, turning to them when Quinn finally rounded the corner, out of sight.

"You see dozens of females in Cheerio outfits every day," Rachel reminded him.

"But it's Quinn," Sam said, smiling crookedly. "She looks amazing."

"Yes, she does," Kurt chimed in. "Don't you think so, Rachel?"

Rachel narrowed her eyes at him and said, "If you'll excuse me, I need to get to class early; I think we're going to have a quiz and I would like to look over my notes."

"Later, Rachel," Sam said.

She felt bad about lying to them, but she seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Although she didn't like doing it, sometimes it was the only way she could get out of the situation—especially when Kurt was involved. He had been making quite a few comments and she really didn't appreciate it. She knew Sam was too oblivious to know what Kurt was talking about, but she was afraid someone else would start picking up on it. Luckily, Blaine would often hush him and steer the conversation in a different direction. She was thankful she had him on her side; it was nice to know he was there for her and that she had someone to talk to if she needed it.

Rachel walked into her class and was the only person inside, but she was there incredibly early. She sat down, pulled out her stuff for class, and put her head in her hands. Part of her hoped Quinn would be late, but the other part of her hoped she would be there early, so there would be time for them to talk.

* * *

"I want to congratulate everyone again," Mr. Schue said as he stood in front of the group. "You guys did really well, but we need to be even better if we're going to win Regionals. We were an eight, but we need to be a ten. There were a lot of distractions last week and we barely beat The Warblers because of it. We need to put that all behind us and focus on the next step, so we can make it to Nationals. I know you all can do it; you just need to keep working hard, so we can bring that Nationals trophy home to McKinley."

People clapped and there were a few cheers, but Rachel noticed a lack of excitement. She wondered if everyone was like her and knew they barely beat The Warblers, which meant they needed to be a lot better if they were going to beat their competition at Regionals.

"Okay, for this week's assignment, you are going to be in pairs," Mr. Schue said, walking toward the piano. "I want you to perform a duet together and _everyone_ must participate. You can pick any song from any genre, but I want you and your partner to work together to choose the song. This assignment is all about teamwork, and I really want to see you guys working closely to give an amazing performance.

"Now, I'm going to draw your names randomly; there will be no switching partners, and I don't want to hear any complaints from anyone. Since there are an uneven number of you, one of the groups will be a trio." He shook the hat and then reached in and pulled out two slips of paper. "Tina and Mike. Brittany and Kurt. Puck and Blaine. Mercedes and Finn. Artie and Sam."

Rachel looked around; the only potential partners left for her were Quinn and Santana. Having to do a duet with Santana was her worst nightmare and she was trying to will Mr. Schue into picking Quinn name out of the hat.

"And then final team is—Rachel and Santana," Mr. Schue announced.

Rachel audibly groaned and Santana said, "Watch it, hobbit. I ain't happy about it, either."

"That leaves Quinn," Mr. Schue said. "Since you're the last, I'm going to let you choose which group you would like to be with."

Rachel was determined not to look as Quinn made her decision. She looked at Sam, though, and he was looking over his shoulder with a hopeful expression on his face. She didn't know why he thought Quinn would ever pick him. Despite what he said at Halloween about being able to handle things himself, he still had not made a move. Rachel was pretty sure Quinn barely knew Sam existed, and as far as she knew, the blonde didn't really know Artie either.

"I'll join Rachel and Santana," Quinn finally said.

Sam looked disappointed for a moment, but then he looked at Rachel, gave her a smile, and shrugged. Rachel didn't know how it was going to go; she was a little relieved Quinn picked them because she didn't know how she would deal with being alone with Santana for any extended period of time. At least the other girl had been less hostile toward her recently, but they were still far from friendly with one another.

"Okay, you have the rest of time to get with your partners and start working on your assignment," Mr. Schue said, clapping his hands together.

The groups started breaking off and Rachel stood, walking toward the piano, which was free from the other groups. Quinn quickly joined her, but Santana was still sitting in her seat with her arms crossed. She was clearly unhappy about their assignment, but Rachel wasn't very happy herself. So far she had successfully avoided working with the Cheerio unless it was girls versus boys; this time, however, she was going to have to work with her and attempt to get along. That was easier said than done when Santana was involved.

"Is she ever going to come over here?" Rachel asked Quinn.

"I have never met someone more stubborn," Quinn remarked. "Come on, Santana."

The other girl rolled her eyes and stayed seated for another minute before standing. She slowly made her way over and Rachel frowned; it was very clear that Santana was deliberately being slow.

"Thank you for joining us, Santana," Rachel said when she finally stood next to them.

"Shut it, Berry," Santana replied.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Santana—"

"What?" Santana asked. "Do you expect me to be nice to her? I'd rather eat glass."

"You could at least not insult her," Quinn replied. "We are a group and we need to work together."

Santana scoffed. "Why? It's not like we win anything."

"We will have the knowledge that we are the best, which is a reward in itself," Rachel responded.

Santana rolled her eyes but didn't respond. Rachel gave Quinn a grateful smile for saying something to the other girl and Quinn smiled back. Santana looked between the two of them and rolled her eyes again.

"If you two are done, I'd like to get this over with," Santana remarked.

"Okay, I propose—"

"No," Santana said, interrupted Rachel.

Rachel pouted. "You don't even know what I was going to say."

"It doesn't matter," Santana replied. "The answer would still be no."

Rachel huffed. "So what it your idea since you refuse to listen to mine?"

Santana shrugged. "Who said I have one? I just don't want to sing some Streisand song."

"Okay, I don't only sing Streisand songs," Rachel replied. "And Barbra Streisand is an amaz—"

"Don't want to hear it, dward," Santana interrupted, holding up her hand.

"How about this," Quinn said, interrupting their bickering. "One of us is in charge of song selection, one is in charge of choreography, and the other is in charge of wardrobe."

"I would be agreeable to that," Rachel replied.

"How do we pick?" Santana asked.

"We don't," Quinn replied. "We pull it out of something just like Mr. Schue."

"Whatever," Santana said with a shrug.

Rachel smiled. "I think we have a plan."

* * *

"Wanna come over?" Sam asked as they walked out of the choir room.

"I can't," Rachel said, grabbing her bag. "I have to choose a song for this week's assignment, so I can let Quinn know in the morning."

While she was happy she was lucky enough to choose the song they would be singing, she was a little afraid of what they would be wearing. Santana would be the one in charge of wardrobe, and even though they set some ground rules—everyone had to be dressed in a similar fashion—she was afraid the Cheerio would find a way to humiliate her.

"That's too bad," Sam replied. "Stevie wants to make those pizza things again and you're so much better at it than I am."

"Maybe next ti—"

Rachel gasped when the icy substance came in contact with her face. No matter how many times she got hit with a slushy, it was never something she would get used to. The humiliation of getting hit—not to mention the actual pain it caused—was one of the worst things she'd ever experienced, and it happened repeatedly to her.

"Later, loser," she heard Karofsky say.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and wiped away some of the red substance from her eyes to find Sam standing next to her looking angry. He looked as if he was going to go after the football player, so Rachel put her hand over his to stop him. She didn't want him getting hurt on her account.

"Come one," Kurt said, walking toward her with Tina by his side. "Let's get you cleaned up."

She looked at Sam and he looked torn. "I would help, but—"

"Go," Rachel said, trying to give him a smile. "Your parents need you."

Sam sighed and said, "I'll call you later."

Rachel nodded as Tina and Kurt began leading her to the nearest bathroom, but she stopped and looked down the hall. "I need my bag."

"I'll get it for you," Tina replied. "What's your combination?"

"32-8-14," Rachel answered.

"Let's go before you start dripping on my shoes," Kurt said, pulling her toward the bathroom while Tina ran off down the hall.

"Wait."

Rachel looked up to find Quinn coming their way; she didn't even know the other girl was still around.

"Why are we waiting?" Kurt asked, sounding annoyed.

"Go home," Quinn commanded. "I'll help her."

Kurt seemed to hesitate, so Rachel said, "It's okay, Kurt."

The boy nodded and released Rachel, making a disgusted face when he looked at his hand. He shook it around like it was going to get off some of the sticky substance.

"Come on," Quinn said softly as she touched Rachel's arm and led her to the bathroom.

Once inside, Quinn took Rachel to the sink and walked over to grab a handful of paper towels from the dispenser. Wordlessly, she walked back to Rachel and began gently wiping her face. Rachel was watching her closely; the blonde looked slightly angry with her brows furrowed together, and Rachel wondered if she was angry with her.

"Did I do something wrong?" Rachel whispered.

"What?" Quinn asked, looking at her confusedly.

"You look angry," Rachel stated.

Quinn tilted her head. "Why would you think I'm angry with you?"

"I don't know," Rachel said, looking down.

"I'm angry with the guy that did this to you," Quinn said, continuing to wipe the slushy substance off of Rachel.

The door opened and Tina walked in with Rachel's emergency bag. "Sorry it took so long; I had to find a different way to get to your locker. For some reason Karofsky was sitting in the middle of the hallway and I was afraid he had another cup. Here."

Quinn grabbed the bag from Tina. "Thanks."

"Do you want me to help?" Tina asked.

"I've got it" Quinn said, running a bit of water over some paper towels.

"Okay," Tina said, giving Rachel a sad smile.

"I wonder why Karofsky was sitting in the hallway," Rachel remarked when Tina left.

"Probably because I kicked him," Quinn replied.

Rachel's mouth dropped. "You what?"

"He'll definitely think twice before doing it again," Quinn said, smirking slightly.

"Quinn!" Rachel said, gasping.

"What?" Quinn asked. "He deserved it."

"That's—" Rachel opened and closed her mouth several times as she tried to figure out what to say. "I'm not worth getting in trouble over."

"Okay, first off, he isn't going to tell anyone," Quinn replied. "If he did, he would have to admit that a girl hurt him and he'd never risk the rest of the football team finding out. And second—yes, you are."

Rachel blushed. "While I abhor violence of any kind—thank you."

Quinn smiled. "You're welcome."

* * *

Rachel nervously tapped her fingers against her thigh; she didn't know why she was nervous, but there was just something about being trapped inside such a confined space with Quinn. She had been hesitant to get a ride home from Quinn—the blonde had already done a lot for her—but it seemed ridiculous to call one of her fathers to pick her up. So, they sat in silence except for the times Rachel needed to direct Quinn on where to turn.

"Turn left at the stop sign." Rachel instructed.

Quinn followed Rachel's direction, turning onto the street Rachel's house was on. The blonde glanced at Rachel before looking back at the road, and Rachel stilled her hands, wondering if it was bugging the other girl.

Quinn cleared her throat. "Are you—doing anything Friday?"

"I am," Rachel replied. "My fathers want to have a game night and Sam is supposed to join us since he doesn't have to babysit his brother and sister."

"Okay," Quinn said, tapping her fingers against the wheel. "What about Saturday?"

"I believe I am free Saturday," Rachel replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if you would want to do something," Quinn stated. "Maybe go to a movie and dinner."

Rachel froze; that sounded very much like a date to her. Her first instinct was to say no, but Quinn already knew she didn't have plans and lying to Quinn felt wrong. Ever since Blaine had said what he said, she wondered if he was right. She kept thinking of every little thing Quinn had said or done and it made sense. At the same time, it didn't make any sense, though. Quinn was smart and beautiful and popular, and Rachel didn't understand what she would ever see in her.

"Okay," Rachel said, slightly unsure. "Yes."

Quinn smiled. "Tomorrow, I'll let you know what time."

"That sounds good." Rachel took a deep breath; surely it wasn't a date, but that didn't stop her heart from racing. "My house is right there."

Quinn nodded and slowed, pulling into Rachel's driveway. When she came to a complete stop, Rachel sat there awkwardly for a moment.

"Thank you for your help today," she finally said. "It's not very easy to clean up after a slushy hit, so I really appreciate your help."

"I was glad I could help," Quinn replied. "It's never happened to me, but I can imagine how it must feel. Just—don't ever let them get to you. I know some of the things they say to you, but they're wrong and one of these days they're going to see it."

"I—thank you," Rachel said, ducking her head.

Quinn smiled softly at her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Rachel nodded as she opened the door. "I will have a song chosen by tomorrow and let you know, so you can begin working on the choreography. And if you need any help with the choreography, let me know, and I will be glad to help in any way you need."

"I might take you up on that," Quinn replied.

Rachel stepped out of the car and bent down. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Have a good night," Quinn said, giving her a smile.

Rachel shut the door and turned away; as she walked down the driveway, she looked over her shoulder. Quinn was just pulling out of the drive and gave her a wave, so Rachel waved back. She didn't know if Quinn had just asked her out on a date, but part of her hoped she had.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm wearing this," Rachel said, looking down at herself.

"Quit bitching," Santana replied, rolling her eyes.

"But it's just so tight," Rachel complained, pulling at her tank top.

She was wearing a black tank top and leather pants, which she did not approve of, but Quinn and Santana were wearing similar clothing, so it didn't go against the rules. Upon seeing Santana's choice in wardrobe, she began trying to convince her to choose something else, but the other girl wouldn't budge.

"Don't worry about it, okay?" Quinn whispered into her ear, sending chills down Rachel's spine. "You look really good like that."

Rachel tried not to blush as she said, "Thank you."

"Do you two ever stop doing that?" Santana asked.

Rachel frowned. "Stop doing what?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "Like you don't know."

"I assure you, Santana, I have no idea what you are referring to," Rachel replied.

"Guys, I think we're on," Quinn said, interrupting them.

Rachel looked down at her outfit and sighed; there was no getting out of this now. She was just going to have to put her game face on and do her best. She prided herself on always putting on a better performance than everyone else and today was going to be no exception.

"You'll be fine," Quinn said, smiling at her.

"I know," Rachel said and then looked at Quinn and smiled back.

She heard the band play the opening to the song and took a deep breath, readying herself. As soon as she heard her cue, she entered the choir room.

_"I hate the world today  
__You're so good to me  
__I know but I can't change  
__Tried to tell you  
__But you look at me like maybe  
__I'm an angel underneath  
__Innocent and sweet"_

Quinn entered after her, taking over the second half of the verse while Rachel put her microphone in one of the stands that were waiting on them

_"Yesterday I cried  
__Must have been relieved to see  
__The softer side  
__I can understand how you'd be so confused  
__I don't envy you  
__I'm a little bit of everything  
__All rolled into one"_

Together, the two sung the chorus while Santana remained in the hallways. Rachel looked at the audience and smiled at Sam's happy face.

_"I'm a bitch, I'm a lover  
__I'm a child, I'm a mother  
__I'm a sinner, I'm a saint  
__I do not feel ashamed  
__I'm your hell, I'm your dream  
__I'm nothing in between  
__You know you wouldn't want it any other way"_

Santana slinked into the room, singing her part of the song. Rachel had to admit that the girl knew how to work the room. Brittany was on her feet, cheering the moment her girlfriend walked into the room and Santana threw her a wink.

_"So take me as I am  
__This may mean  
__You'll have to be a stronger man  
__Rest assured that  
__When I start to make you nervous  
__And I'm going to extremes  
__Tomorrow I will change  
__And today won't mean a thing"_

They sang the chorus again and Rachel looked to the side at Quinn. She looked confident and happy, and Rachel almost thought their outfits were worth it because the blonde looked amazing in hers.

_"I'm a bitch, I'm a lover  
__I'm a child, I'm a mother  
__I'm a sinner, I'm a saint  
__I do not feel ashamed  
__I'm your hell, I'm your dream  
__I'm nothing in between  
__You know you wouldn't want it any other way"_

They ended the song together, singing the final verse as they walked onto the riser, working the audience. Rachel ruffled Sam's hair and he looked up at her, giving her a thumbs up.

_"I'm a bitch, I'm a tease  
__I'm a goddess on my knees  
__When you hurt, when you suffer  
__I'm your angel undercover  
__I've been numb, I'm revived  
__Can't say I'm not alive  
__You know I wouldn't want it any other way"_

When the song ended, everyone cheered and Rachel couldn't help but beam at them. It was one of the most enthusiastic reactions she had ever gotten from her fellow Glee members. She knew a lot of it was thanks to Quinn and Santana, but it still felt good. She was just glad she picked the song; she mostly did it to show Santana that she didn't just know Barbra Streisand songs, but it seemed to be a hit. Even Santana had seemed impressed by her choice; of course she didn't say anything, but she didn't complain, either, like she did about everything else.

"Girls, that was awesome!" Mr. Schue said. "That's what I'm talking about when I say teamwork. You three clearly worked together and you were able to bring us an amazing performance because of it. This is what we need if we're going to win Nationals this year."

"See, that wasn't so bad," Quinn whispered.

"You're right," Rachel agreed.

Quinn reached out and squeezed her hand before walking to her seat. Rachel smiled to herself at the gesture and followed her to the risers, sitting down next to Sam.

"That was really cool," Sam said, leaning toward her.

"Thank you," Rachel replied.

She had gone through a lot for that performance—as she expected, Santana was a pain to work with—but it was worth it. She had been focusing on it all week, but now that it was over, her mind was fully on the next day. She had been trying to forget about it, but now that she had nothing else to distract her, all she could think about was that she had a possible date with Quinn Fabray.

* * *

**The song was Bitch by Meredith Brooks.**


	11. Frozen

**Chapter 11 – Frozen**

Rachel sighed as she stared at herself in the mirror and turned, pulling her sweater off and onto the pile of clothes on her bed. Even though she kept telling herself this wasn't a date, she still wanted the perfect outfit, but she was having a hard time finding anything. Half of her closet was currently on her bed. She had been trying on different combinations, but nothing was right.

"Wow," Leroy said, poking his head into the room. "Did a clothes bomb go off in here?"

"I can't decide what to wear," Rachel said, sighing as she made some space to sit down on the corner of the bed.

"You mean you're not going to wear a tank top in December?" Leroy asked, motioning to what she was currently wearing.

"Very funny," Rachel said, huffing, and crossing her arms over her chest.

"What's wrong with this?" Leroy asked as he held up one of her sweaters.

Rachel frowned. "Everything."

"You know, for someone who keeps saying this is not a date, you're awfully concerned about what you're going to wear," Leroy commented.

"I just—want to look nice," Rachel mumbled.

"Because it's a date," Leroy responded.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "It's not a date. For one, I highly doubt Quinn would ever be interested in me, and for two, Sam likes Quinn and I wouldn't do that to him."

"Again, why do you care so much about what you are going to wear if it's not a date?" Leroy asked.

"I don't know," Rachel said, shrugging.

"It's a date," Leroy replied.

Rachel shook her head, narrowing her eyes at her father. "Will you please leave so I can continue trying on clothes for my not-a-date?"

Leroy laughed loudly. "Yes, I think I've teased you enough for the time being."

Leroy kissed her temple and left her alone again. She really needed to choose an outfit soon because she was quickly running out of time. She looked at the clock and realized she only had five minutes before Quinn was going to be there. Sighing, she looked around her bed; surely she had something that would be suitable for tonight.

She picked up and looked over a pair of jeans she'd thrown on the bed earlier; they were something Kurt convinced her to buy while on a shopping trip to the mall with her friends. She wore them once when Sam talked her into it since they were going to a fair and he thought they would be more practical. She never wanted to buy them, but she had received many compliments from her friends the one time she wore them. They were one of the few things she hadn't tried yet, so she slipped them on and looked into the mirror.

She wasn't very comfortable in jeans—she only ever wore them for Glee performances—but she had to admit that these were rather flattering, and Quinn had never seen her in them before. She looked around for a top to go with them and grabbed a simple, black a gray striped sweater. When she put it on, she looked at her reflection again. It was better than all the other outfits she had tried on and Quinn would be there any minute, so she decided to go with it.

She continued observing herself in the mirror, looking at every angle, when the doorbell rang. Her breath hitched at the sound, knowing it had to be Quinn. She quickly grabbed her purse, and with one last glance in the mirror, she took off for the stairs, afraid of what her fathers might say if they were left alone for too long with the blonde.

As she descended the stairs, she paused when she fully saw Quinn. Rachel thought she looked amazing in her navy and white dress, and at the same time, wondered if she was underdressed.

Quinn smiled up at her. "Hey."

"Hello, Quinn," Rachel said, ducking her head, suddenly feeling shy.

Behind Quinn, Leroy gave thumbs up while Hiram mouthed 'she's cute'. Rachel rolled her eyes as she walked to the bottom of the stairs. Quinn looked over her shoulder, but Rachel's fathers just smiled, thankfully missing their embarrassing gestures.

"Well, you two have fun," Leroy said, stepping out of the way.

"Be home by midnight," Hiram added.

"Two," Leroy contradicted.

Leroy and Hiram looked at each other and then both said, "One."

Rachel hugged her fathers and said, "I will see you when I get home. I know it will be hard, but have a good night without me."

"It was nice to meet you," Quinn said over her shoulder as Rachel opened the door, wanting to get out before her fathers did something to embarrass her.

* * *

Rachel played with the wrapper from her straw as they waited on their food to arrive. The restaurant was one neither of them had been to before and the service there was rather slow. She was a little concerned that they were going to be late for the movie, but Quinn didn't seem too worried, so she tried to relax. That was easier said than done, though, since she seemed to be nervous about everything tonight. Despite telling herself it wasn't a date, it was beginning to feel more and more like a date, and it had her on edge.

"Rachel."

She jumped slightly and looked up. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?" Quinn asked, looking amused.

"I'm fine," Rachel replied.

"Really? Because I've never seen you this quiet before," Quinn said, smiling softly.

Rachel cleared her throat. "It's been a long week."

"How was last night?" Quinn asked. "You had that game night with your fathers, right?"

"Yes, but it turned more into a movie night than a game night," Rachel replied. "We played half a round of Scene It, but when my fathers discovered Sam and I had never seen The Goonies, they immediately stopped the game and made us watch it."

"How have you never watched The Goonies?" Quinn asked. "That would be like never seeing The Breakfast Club." Rachel blushed and Quinn gasped. "You've never seen The Breakfast Club?!"

"No," Rachel admitted.

"We're going to have to fix that one day," Quinn stated. "Maybe you can come over sometimes and we can watch it—or I can go to your house."

"Okay," Rachel agreed. "That sounds like fun."

Quinn smiled. "I really think you will like it."

"Well, if I'm watching it, I only think it's fair if you watch a movie of choice as well," Rachel commented.

"That's fair," Quinn said with a laugh. "What movie do you have in mind?"

"I'm not sure," Rachel replied. "Obviously something you have never seen before."

"You may have a hard time finding something," Quinn remarked. "I didn't have many friends growing up, so I spent a lot of time watching movies."

"Have you watched Funny Girl?" Rachel asked.

"Many times," Quinn replied.

"West Side Story?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," Quinn answered.

Rachel frowned. "I will think of something."

"Are you not used to your friend having seen them?" Quinn asked.

"No," Rachel replied. "Sam has watched a lot of movies, but he doesn't really appreciate the classics. He is more of a fan of action, science fiction, and fantasy movies. I tried to get him to watch Yentl once, but he fell asleep in the middle of it and refused to ever watch the rest."

Rachel smiled and Quinn laughed, saying, "Before you ask, I've seen that too."

"Too bad." Rachel sighed and then smiled. "But I'm sure I will find something."

"I'm sure you will," Quinn said, smiling at her.

Rachel looked down as she cleared her throat. Sometimes when Quinn smiled at her the way she was at that moment, Rachel's heart felt like it was fluttering. It was a weird sensation that she had never really experienced before, and she wished she knew what was going through Quinn's mind when she smiled at her like that.

"Maybe we can do it next weekend," Quinn added. "Unless you're busy."

"I'll have to let you know," Rachel replied. "Sam was talking about something earlier, but I don't know if he was talking about next weekend or another."

"Do you ever hang out with any of your other friends?" Quinn asked after a few moments.

"I—sometimes," Rachel replied, surprised by the slight edge to Quinn's voice. "Why do you ask?"

Quinn shrugged. "You just always seem to be doing stuff with Sam."

"Well, he is my best friend," Rachel stated. "Kurt and Blaine are usually busy with one another, Mercedes and Tina generally are uninterested in what we are doing, and Artie would have to get his mother to take him because none of us have appropriate transportation, so he usually stays home because his mother works a lot." Rachel looked at Quinn. "You could join sometime if you would like. We don't really do a lot, though; we usually go to the movies or stay in and watch something or play a game. I doubt Sam would mind if we had a third."

Actually, she knew Sam would be thrilled, but she couldn't exactly say that to Quinn. She knew it was probably a bad idea to invite the blonde—things were already complicated enough without the three of them spending time together—but she could help herself. She was torn between staying away from Quinn as much as possible and wanting to spend time with her.

Quinn nodded. "Let me know and I'll be there."

"Okay," Rachel said, surprised that Quinn didn't hesitate about the offer.

Really, she was surprised when anyone willingly spent time with her. She spent so many years without friends and it really wasn't until the past few years that she finally had people she could consider friends.

"Earlier you said you didn't have many friends growing up," Rachel said, just remembering that the blonde had mentioned it. "I find that hard to believe."

Quinn laughed and said, "You shouldn't be. I didn't always look like this. It's amazing what surgery can do along with some contacts, hair dye, and exercise."

Rachel's jaw dropped, and she harshly whispered, "You had plastic surgery!"

"Yeah," Quinn replied. "Just on my nose. I asked for it and my parents happily agreed." Quinn shook her head. "I told you before, popularity meant a lot to me and I was willing to do just about anything for it. And my parents wanted me to be prom queen like my mom was, so they were more than encouraging." Quinn rolled her eyes. "I spent so much time trying to be like my sister because that's how my parents wanted me to be, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't do it. When my dad told me we were moving at the end of the summer, I realized I'd finally had enough. I stopped trying so hard because there was no reason; I was going to have to start over at a new school anyway."

"I'm assuming you never would have spoken to me if I went to your old school," Rachel commented.

"Probably not," Quinn said with a sigh. "Which is one of the reasons I'm happy I changed—I would have missed out on getting to know you."

Rachel ducked her head; Quinn had that look on her face again and she didn't want the blonde to see her blushing.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" Quinn asked as they walked down the hallway to theater number one.

"I'm sure," Rachel said with a soft smile. "But thank you for the offer."

She was more than full from dinner, which turned out to be remarkably good once it finally came. However, service was incredibly slow and they were later to the movie than Rachel usually liked to be since it was harder to find a good seat when it was only five minutes prior to the start of the film. She was just happy they hadn't missed the beginning of the movie; she hated trying to find a seat in the dark. They would have been there a little sooner, but there was a lengthy discussion about who would pay. Quinn wanted to since she said it was her idea to go, but in the end, Rachel got her way and they split the check. Anything else would be going too much into date territory for Rachel.

If she was being honest with herself, she knew it was already fairly far into date territory, but unless Quinn explicitly declared it as such, she was just going to consider it an outing between two friends. Yes, they were doing things that people on dates did, but she also often went to dinner and a movie with Sam, and those were definitely not dates. Of course, Sam also didn't try to pay for dinner like Quinn did.

"Front or back?" Quinn asked as they stood looking into the theater.

"I prefer sitting near the back, but wherever you would like to sit is fine with me," Rachel replied.

Quinn nodded and led them to the back of the theater. Despite Rachel's worrying that they wouldn't get decent seats, the theater was relatively empty, which was strange for a Saturday night when the movie had just come out. She supposed most people were tired of those large ensemble, romantic comedies, but she still quite liked them. Sam didn't usually like to see them, though, so she had to go with Kurt and Blaine the last time. At least she was in better company this time; her two friends talked during the whole movie last time, but Rachel didn't see Quinn as the type of person to do that.

"Excuse me," Rachel said as she squeezed her way past a rather large man, whose knees were practically touching the seat in front of him. "Sorry."

Quinn laughed lightly, reaching out to grab Rachel's arm when she stumbled a bit. "Are you okay?"

Rachel blew her hair out of her face. "Yes."

Quinn just smiled as she took her seat and Rachel sat down to the left of her. The blonde had been nice enough to sit behind the taller of the two people in front of them, which she appreciated. She normally didn't mind the fact that she was short, but it was usually times like this when it was a problem.

"Twizzler?" Quinn asked, holding out the bag.

Rachel wanted to say no, but they were what she always got when she was here. "Just one."

"So, are you doing anything over the break?" Quinn asked.

"We're spending Christmas in Pennsylvania," Rachel replied. "Most of my Daddy's family lives there, so we're staying there for a few days. My grandparents are coming a few days after that, as well as several of my aunts, uncles, and cousins, so the house is going to be fairly crowded for a while and I'll most certainly have to give up my room." Rachel scrunched her nose. "Which means I will probably have to sleep in the basement if I want any semblance of peace and quiet. What about you? Any plans?"

"My sister and her husband are coming for Christmas," Quinn said, not sounding very excited about it. "I really thought they would go to his parents' house since they were just here for Thanksgiving."

"Why don't you and your sister get along?" Rachel wondered.

"She's just so—" Quinn sighed and shook her head. "Frannie likes to think she is perfect and has always loved pointing out all the ways I'm not. She was homecoming queen, prom queen, valedictorian—I tried to live up to that for so long, but it's hard when you have a sister that has done everything before you and done it so perfectly. She has to mention it every time we're in the same room for more than a few minutes. She's never been that protective older sister that you want to have; she's the kind you resent. I hoped when I stopped caring about all that stuff so much that we could finally be more like sisters than rivals, but it hasn't made a difference."

"Wow," Rachel said with a frown. "That makes me slightly thankful to be an only child. I've always wished my fathers had decided to have a second child, but I'll be the first to admit that I love attention, and I don't know how I would have dealt with having to compete for their affection. Sam's little brother and sister, Stevie and Stacey, are a lot like my own, though, so I have the best of both worlds with them." Rachel cleared her throat. "My birthday is next weekend; Sunday to be exact, and Saturday night I'm having a sleepover. I know it's a little lame to have a sleepover for my seventeenth birthday, but I thought it could be fun since I didn't have friends when I was younger to come to one. Anyway, if you would like to come, I'm sure my fathers wouldn't mind having another person over."

She knew it was probably a bad idea to ask Quinn over—there was a chance they might end up sharing a bed, which could be fairly awkward for her—but she didn't want her to feel left out. Plus, they _were_ friends and she had invited all the other girls and Kurt. If Quinn found out, she might be hurt that she wasn't invited, and Rachel would feel bad if that happened.

"Are you sure?" Quinn asked.

"Yes," Rachel replied. "Why not?"

Quinn smiled as the theater went dark. "Alright—I'll be there."

* * *

Rachel silently walked beside Quinn to the blonde's car. They hadn't said much since the end of the movie and Rachel was beginning to wonder if something was bothering Quinn. She couldn't quite decipher the expression on her face; she didn't really look angry or anything, but she also didn't look very happy.

"What did you think of the movie?" Rachel asked, hoping to get her to speak.

Quinn shrugged. "It was okay. I've seen better, but I've also definitely seen worse. Did you like it?"

"I am indifferent about it," Rachel replied.

Truthfully, she hadn't paid much attention to the movie while it was playing. Her mind was too aware of the fact that she was sitting next to Quinn and she was trying to focus on not doing or saying anything stupid. It all started because five minutes into the movie, she accidently bumped elbows with Quinn; she pulled back so quickly that she knocked the blonde's popcorn into the floor. Luckily the theater was dark so the other girl couldn't see her blush of embarrassment. After that, she was so focused on not repeating the action, the movie was an afterthought.

"I guess that's better than hating it," Quinn said with a laugh.

Quinn opened Rachel's door for her and held it as the brunette sat down, shutting it once she was in place. Rachel half frowned, half smiled at the action; Quinn had been opening doors for her all evening. Even if it was a date, it was the first time it had really happened. Despite the fact that Jesse St. James was trying to seduce her to bring down her club, he was never very chivalrous during the few dates they had together. He had been far too busy trying to con her with his words to really pay much attention to details like that.

As Quinn opened the door and sat behind the wheel, she asked, "Do you want me to take you home or would you like to get coffee or something?"

"I should probably get home," Rachel replied. "I still have some homework that I should probably work on tonight."

Quinn nodded as she started the engine. It was true that Rachel had homework to do, but it could wait until the next day. She felt like being with Quinn was clouding her judgment and she needed to get away from the blonde after spending so much time with her. It wasn't that she had done anything wrong—Quinn had been great, in fact—but Rachel's feelings were overwhelming her. Quinn was being too perfect and it made it hard to remember why she didn't want to have these feelings. It made her forget Sam for a moment, and it made her wish this really was a date and that Quinn really did like her.

"Speaking of homework, we should get started on our physics project," Quinn said, pulling out of the parking lot. "It's due in less than two weeks."

"You're right," Rachel replied, having completely forgotten about it with everything that had been going on. "Are you free any day next week?"

"I have cheerleading practice most days, but I would be free Wednesday after glee practice," Quinn replied.

"I believe I could make that work," Rachel stated.

She couldn't believe she had for forgotten their physics project; after all, it was worth ten percent of their grade and they had four due for the year. She wondered if Quinn was still planning on being the one to come up with this project or if she wanted her to do it again. Considering how time consuming the last one was, she suspected the other girl would want to do it herself, though.

Rachel cleared her throat. "So—what's it like being on the Cheerios?"

"Torture," Quinn replied, giving her a wry smile. "I'm pretty sure Coach Sylvester belongs in a mental institution. She actually made one girl eat dirt the other day and I've heard a rumor that she likes to take new girls out into the middle of the woods just to see if they have the skills to make their way back."

"That's not just a rumor," Rachel asserted. "Jenny Newman was lost for two days; they finally found her with a broken leg and severe dehydration. She was in the hospital for several days."

Quinn scoffed. "How has she not been arrested?"

"I've heard she has friends on the police force," Rachel said with a shrug. "That and she denied the whole thing. I believe the school board looks over all her indiscretions because she has won so many national championships and they know they will never find another winning coach like her."

"So she is insane," Quinn murmured.

"Very," Rachel replied. "You should try to make sure you stay on her good side; I've heard she only does things like that to girls who mess up during practice."

"I'll keep that in mind," Quinn said, smiling.

"I must admit, I was surprised to learn you had joined the Cheerios," Rachel commented.

Quinn laughed. "I was surprised, too, but part of me missed cheering. I know it's lame or whatever, but I always liked being in front of a crowd and competing. Plus, it really looks good on college applications."

"I can understand that," Rachel commented. "I've been mulling over what to say for my NYADA application and it's making me wish I had fought harder to get the school to do a musical that I could have been a part of."

"Maybe you still could," Quinn replied. "When is your application due?"

"The end of January," Rachel said.

"Have you talked to Mr. Schue about it?" Quinn asked.

"Of course, but he always says there isn't enough interest in it or that the school doesn't have the funding." Rachel shook her head. "It's depressing how little people care about the arts."

"Maybe we can get him to change his mind," Quinn remarked.

"Good luck," Rachel said with a sigh.

After talking about Glee some more, Quinn pulled into Rachel's driveway. The brunette sat there for a moment, trying to find the right words to convey what she wanted to say, but nothing was coming, so she said, "Thank you."

"For what?" Quinn asked.

"I had a nice time," Rachel replied.

Quinn smiled. "Me too."

"I guess I will see you Monday," Rachel said, putting her hand on the door.

"I'll walk you," Quinn said, opening up her door, and stepping out of the car.

Rachel took a deep breath and followed suit, joining Quinn at the front of the car. Together, they silently walked down the driveway to the front door of Rachel's house. The lights were on inside, which meant Rachel's dads were up and probably staring at them from some window. She looked around to see if they were visible, but she didn't spot either of them. That didn't mean they weren't there, though; they were both notoriously nosy.

"Thank you again," Rachel said.

"Maybe next weekend we can watch The Breakfast Club like we were talking about," Quinn suggested.

Rachel nodded. "I will let you know."

"Okay," Quinn replied.

They stared at each other for a moment and Rachel's breath hitched when the blonde leaned forward. She was frozen in place as Quinn's lips pressed against hers. At first she didn't react, but after a second, her lips moved and she found herself kissing Quinn back. The kiss was over before she knew it and she found herself staring into Quinn's hazel eyes.

"Night," Quinn said, giving her a shy smile.

"Goodnight," Rachel managed to choke out.

Rachel stood there still frozen to the same spot as she watched Quinn get in her car and pull out of the driveway. She really hoped her fathers hadn't seen that; she didn't want them to know that they had been correct and that it apparently was a date.


	12. I Dream

**Chapter 12 – I Dream**

Rachel looked around as she shut her locker; several of her friends were at the other end of the hall, including Sam, but she began walking the opposite direction. After a while, she found herself in the choir room, where she had been spending a lot of time this week. She was trying to come up with the perfect song for the assignment that week, but she was having a hard time with it. Her mind kept wondering back to Saturday night, making it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand.

She still hadn't properly spoken to Quinn about what happened. It wasn't that she had been avoiding her—okay, she had been avoiding her, but she didn't know what to say. Despite everything that night feeling like a date, she had convinced herself that it wasn't one, so the kiss at the end of the night caught her off-guard. It all seemed so obvious now and she felt stupid for not seeing it at the time. Even after being kissed by her, the notion that Quinn liked her still felt wrong. She couldn't really wrap her mind around it, which was one of the reasons she was avoiding her. The other major reason was Sam; she constantly felt guilty and desperately wanted to talk to him about it, but she was afraid of the consequences.

"You've been in here a lot lately."

Rachel looked up to find Blaine leaning against the door jam. "I'm trying to choose a song for this week's assignment."

"I thought you usually did that by Monday afternoon," Blaine replied, pushing off, and walking the rest of the way into the room.

"Well, I'm having a difficult time this week," Rachel said, crossing her arms.

"Is everything okay?" Blaine asked.

Rachel sighed and admitted, "No."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Blaine asked.

"No," Rachel replied. "Yes."

Blaine smiled and sat down in one of the plastic chairs, patting the one beside of him. "You know you can tell me."

Rachel was hesitant, but after a moment, she walked to the door, closing it so no one could eavesdrop on their conversation. She looked to make sure the other door was also shut and then walked over, sitting down next to Blaine.

"Quinn likes me," Rachel stated. "You were right."

"Well, it was a little obvious," Blaine replied. "How did you finally realize it?"

"We went on a date Saturday," Rachel said, slumping in her seat. "Of course, I didn't know it was a date or at least I convinced myself it wasn't one. It was hard to deny it when she kissed me, though."

"She kissed you?" Blaine asked.

"Yes," Rachel replied. "She walked me to my door and kissed me."

Blaine smiled. "How was it?"

"I don't know," Rachel said with a sigh. "I sort of just stood there and then it was over."

"Have you ever thought of talking to Sam about this?" Blaine asked.

"Every day," Rachel replied. "It's just—he's my best friend and I can't stand the thought of him being angry with me. At first I thought there was nothing to tell. Yes, I have a crush on Quinn, but I didn't think my feelings would ever be reciprocated. Now I don't know what to do because if I tell him, he's going to wonder why I didn't tell him sooner. You know Sam; he isn't great at keeping secrets, and at the time, I was afraid he would let it slip and Quinn would find out."

"I know you're in a tough spot and I can't tell you what to do, but I think it would be better if you told him sooner rather than later," Blaine said sympathetically.

Rachel sighed. "I know."

"I really don't want to see either of you or your friendship hurt," Blaine said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a one armed hug.

"Thank you," Rachel said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I would normally talk to Sam about this type of thing, but—well—"

"No need to thank me," Blaine replied. "Are you going to be okay?"

Rachel nodded. "Yes."

"If you ever need to talk, you know where to find me," Blaine said, giving her shoulder a squeeze before standing up.

Rachel nodded again and smiled at him; Blaine returned her smiled and then turned, leaving the room. They had never been very close, but she was thankful she had him right now. She really didn't have anyone else to talk to about any of this except her fathers, but it just wasn't the same as having a friend to discuss it with.

"Hey," Quinn suddenly said, causing Rachel to freeze. "Blaine told me I could find you in here. Can we talk?"

"I suppose, but I was in the middle of trying to find a song for—" Rachel stopped when she saw the look on Quinn's face. "Yes, we can talk."

"What's going on?" Quinn asked. "Why have you been ignoring me?"

"I'm not; I've just been occupied with school this week," Rachel lied.

Quinn tilted her head and she felt like the blonde was studying her. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"For what?" Rachel asked, looking up at her.

"For kissing you," Quinn replied. "I thought you liked me back, but I guess not, so I'm sorry if I've made things weird between us. That wasn't my intention."

Rachel opened her mouth, wanting to say that she did like Quinn back, but the bell rang, cutting off her rebuttal. She sighed and they continued looking at each other in silence. Rachel could see the sadness in Quinn's eyes and she wanted to say something to rid her of it, but she just wasn't ready to tell the blonde how she felt.

"We should go so we're not late for class," Rachel eventually said as she looked away.

"Yeah," Quinn said, sounding slightly despondent.

As Quinn walked out of the room, Rachel wanted to call after her, but she couldn't seem to get her voice to work. She knew that might be a good thing, though; at the moment, she really didn't know what to say to the other girl that wouldn't make the situation more complicated.

* * *

Rachel shifted a tomato around her plate before spearing it with her fork and putting it in her mouth. She could see Sam staring at her from the other side of the table, but she didn't have the energy to worry about that right now. He had been shooting her concerned looks all day—all week, really—and kept inquiring if she was okay. Every time she would lie to him and say yes, but it was getting tiring. She deplored lying and the fact that she was lying to her best friend just made it worse. He hadn't asked since that morning, but she could tell he wanted to.

"Why is everyone so quiet?" Mercedes asked.

"Probably because Rachel isn't talking," Kurt pointed out.

Rachel frowned. "I don't always talk during lunch."

"No, but you usually do, and you're rather loud," Kurt said, smirking at her.

Rachel rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, Blaine said, "To be fair, she's not the only loud one at this table."

Blaine gave his boyfriend a pointed look and Kurt just huffed, going back to eating his salad. She gave him a grateful smile and glanced at Sam, who was looking between her and Blaine. He had a slight frown on his face and she knew he was trying to figure what was going on, which only made her feel more guilty.

She looked back down at her tray, trying not to look over at Quinn. She didn't know if Quinn was angry with her or just sad, but after leaving the choir room, they didn't say a word to each other. They worked independently during physics instead of working on their assignment together, and Quinn left without saying a word.

Rachel hated this. She hated that she felt like she had hurt Quinn and she hated that her best friend was completely in the dark about what was going. She was usually so good with talking about her feelings, but she had no idea what to say to anyone right now. She was torn between following her heart and her loyalty to Sam. She knew one of them was going to get hurt no matter what she did and she couldn't bear the thought of it. However, ignoring the situation wasn't going to help anything. Not now—not when Quinn had flat out said that she liked her. At least before she could be in denial about it and assume nothing was going on.

Going against what she told herself she wouldn't do, she looked across the cafeteria at Quinn. She was sitting between Brittany and Puck, looking down at the table with her chin resting in her hand. Even from across the room, she could tell Quinn was sad and knew she was the reason for it. Part of her wanted to go over there and ask Quinn to talk, but the other part knew it wasn't a good idea. They would have to talk sooner or later, but Rachel just wasn't ready; she needed to prepare what she was going to say so she didn't make everything worse. She wanted Quinn to know that she also had feelings for her, but there was nothing she could do about it at the time. She knew she would have to tell Quinn that Sam liked her—it was the only way to explain it—but she felt like she was going to betray Sam by doing so.

Right now, she felt like she was in a no-win situation and it was causing her undue stress. She could feel a headache coming on and she rarely got those. She assumed it was because her mind was working overtime, and ever since Quinn kissed her, she could barely sleep at night from the constant thought of it.

It had been a quick kiss and was over before she could really focus on what was happening, but it was all she could think about lately. She hadn't kissed a lot of people—three people to be exact—so she didn't have a lot to go on, but it was by far the best kiss she had ever experienced. Thoughts of kissing Quinn were plaguing her dreams and when she was awake, she often daydreamed about what it would be like to do it again.

"Rach?" Sam said, gaining her attention.

"Yes?" she asked, averting her eyes from Quinn, realizing she had been staring at the blonde.

"I asked if you wanted my apple," Sam said, holding out the fruit.

"Oh," Rachel blushed, "no thank you."

"You look really tired," Sam said, furrowing his eyebrows as he looked at her.

"I am," Rachel said truthfully.

"Have you been sleeping at all?" Sam asked.

Rachel sighed. "Some."

"What's going on?" Sam asked, shaking his head as he looked at her in concern.

"I just haven't been sleeping very well, but it's nothing to worry about," Rachel replied. "I have to go." Rachel stood up. "I asked the band to meet me in the auditorium during the last half of lunch."

"Did you finally choose a song?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Rachel replied. "I just thought of one, actually."

"Want me to come with you?" Sam asked.

Rachel shook her head. "I don't have a lot of time to rehearse, so it would probably be best if I'm alone."

"I guess I would be a distraction, huh?" Sam said, giving her a lopsided grin.

"I'll see you later," Rachel said, giving him a sad smile.

As she picked up her tray of half eaten food, she looked across the cafeteria. Quinn was still staring at the table, and Rachel knew she was going to have to talk to the blonde today. She couldn't keep going on like this and she definitely had to properly explain things to Quinn. Maybe it wouldn't help anything, but she had to try.

* * *

"Okay, guys, Rachel informed me before class that she would like to perform first, so you're up, Rachel," Mr. Schue said after he was done giving a speech about how they didn't take his assignments seriously enough.

Rachel stood to minimal applause and walked to the center of the room, clearing her throat. "Mr. Schue asked us to sing about our dreams and this is a rather literally interpretation of that, but I thought it was appropriate for the assignment, nonetheless."

She looked at the band and nodded to the drummer. Taking a deep breath, she listened as the music began to play. She was a little nervous about doing this since she only rehearsed the song twice, but it wasn't a particularly difficult song to sing and it was rather slow, so there was no dancing to worry about.

"_It's time to tell you of a secret I keep  
__How I get with you when the world's asleep  
__I can't wait for the long day to end  
__Then I can be back in your arms again_

"_When I close my eyes  
__You are by my side  
__And I can picture us together  
__Every night I pray there will be a way  
__We can make it last forever"_

Throughout the beginning of the song, she kept her eyes trained on a spot at the back of the room, but she could no longer keep her eyes focused on the spot. For a moment she looked at Sam, but then her eye drifted over to Quinn, who had her brows slightly furrowed and a contemplative look on her face.

"_I dream I'm dancing with you  
__And I can really move  
__I dream you're kissing me  
__And I can really feel it  
__I dream I'm dancing with you  
__And I can really move  
__I dream you're kissing me  
__And I can really feel it  
__Swear I can really feel it  
__Swear I can really feel it"_

At first Quinn wasn't looking at her, but her eyes slowly locked onto hers. Rachel wanted to look away, but she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the blonde's intense, hazel eyes.

"_I don't mind living in a fantasy world  
__I know how it feels to be your girl  
__And hear you say the sweetest things soft and low  
__I never want to wake up and let you go, no"_

Quinn was the first one to look away and Rachel breathed a metaphorical sigh of relief. When she looked just over Quinn's shoulder at Santana, the Cheerio had a smirk firmly planted on her face and her eyebrow cocked as if she knew something other people didn't. Given her comments to them over the past few weeks, Rachel had the feeling she _did_ know something most people didn't. Rachel knew she somehow had picked up on their feelings for each other, but, thankfully, hadn't said anything to anyone.

"_When I close my eyes  
__You are by my side  
__And I can picture us together  
__Every night I pray there will be a way  
__We can make it last forever_

"_I dream I'm dancing with you  
__And I can really move  
__I dream you're kissing me  
__And I can really feel it  
__I dream I'm dancing with you  
__Until we lose control  
__I dream you're loving me  
__With all your heart and soul"_

She looked at Sam, who had a smile on his face. He seemed completely oblivious to what was going on, which she was thankful for. She wondered if anyone else had figured it out, but as she looked around the room, she knew everyone else was just as clueless. Kurt had a smirk on his face, but that was to be expected. He dropped a comment at least once a day and she generally ignored it, neither confirming nor denying anything.

"_Someday soon I'm gonna make this dream come true  
__I can't deny that I'm so into you  
__I want you so that I forget to breathe air  
__The feeling grows so strong, I believe"_

As much as she tried to not look at Quinn again, her eyes found the blonde once again. Quinn still wasn't looking at her, instead staring at the floor, but the way she shifted in her seat, she could tell the blonde knew she was being stared at.

"_Every night I pray  
__I will find a way  
__To make it last forever"_

Quinn finally looked at her again and Rachel gave her a slight smile as she sung. She could no longer read the expression on the other girl's face, which was something she noticed a lot. It was as if Quinn often wore a mask, suppressing her emotions, and Rachel wondered if that was part of who she used to be before coming to McKinley.

"_I dream I'm dancing with you  
__And I can really move  
__I dream you're kissing me  
__And I can really feel it"_

As she finished out the song, Quinn's mask slipped a little and she could see a bit of curiosity in her eyes, but then she averted her eyes and it was gone. Even though she still didn't know exactly what to say, she knew they were going to have to talk after Glee. She wasn't looking forward to it, but she knew it had to be done.

"_I dream I'm dancing with you  
__Until we lose control  
__I dream you're loving me  
__With all your heart and soul  
__Swear I can really feel it  
__Swear I can really feel it"_

The song ended and she smiled at her friends, who were clapping for her. She took her seat as Mr. Schue walked to the middle of the room, but she didn't hear a word he said because she was too busy thinking about what she was going to say to Quinn in less than an hour.

* * *

The moment Mr. Schue dismissed them, Rachel's heart began racing and her mouth became abnormally dry. She knew she needed to regain her composure before Quinn left the room and she lost her opportunity to speak with her. It didn't help that Sam was standing there looking at her, probably wondering why she wasn't moving. Quinn was quickly gathering up her bag, but instead of leaving the room, she turned and looked at Rachel.

"I'll talk to you later, Sam," Rachel said, looking at her friend.

"Okay," Sam said, looking a little confused. "Later."

Rachel hung back until she and Quinn were the only two left in the room, which took a while because Kurt was loitering about until Blaine ushered him out of the room. She wanted to laugh at how obvious Kurt was being about trying to eavesdrop on them, but she was so nervous that no sound came out.

"Are we still working on our physics project?" Quinn eventually asked, breaking the silence.

Rachel closed her eyes for a moment. "I completely forgot about that, but yes, I supposed we still can."

"Do you—"

"Can we talk first?" Rachel rushed out, interrupting Quinn before she lost the courage to say what she was about to say.

Quinn sighed as she asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

"We need to talk about last Saturday," Rachel said, watching Quinn closely.

"Didn't we already do that?" Quinn asked.

"You were right," Rachel stated, taking a deep breath. "I do like you."

"Okay," Quinn said, sounding unsure.

"But so does Sam," Rachel continued.

"Sam?" Quinn frowned.

"Yes," Rachel replied. "He has liked you since the first time he saw you on your first day here."

"But he hasn't even talked to me," Quinn said, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I know," Rachel said with a sigh. "Initially, he wanted me to put in a good word and get you into Glee so you could see him perform. He thought maybe you would notice him that way. I think he's been scared to talk to you because of your popularity and because he doesn't really have a great track record with girls he's asked out. Needless to say, it backfired a bit. The more I spoke to you, the more I began to like you." Rachel sighed. "Sam doesn't know. He means well, but he isn't always the best at keeping secrets and I get bullied at this school enough without everyone finding out about this."

"I don't like Sam," Quinn softly said. "I like you."

"Which I did not foresee," Rachel replied.

Quinn smiled. "Really? I thought I was pretty clear about it."

"Blaine thinks I wouldn't let myself see it because then I would have a choice to make," Rachel recalled. "I believe he is partially correct, but I also think it was because of who you are."

"And who is that?" Quinn asked.

"You're smart and popular and you're the prettiest girl I've ever met," Rachel answered. "It's hard to fathom what someone like you would see in someone like me."

"What? You mean in someone that is talented and interesting and more beautiful than she realized?" Quinn asked.

Rachel felt herself blushing as she averted her gaze from Quinn. It was the first time anyone had ever said something like that to her other than a few backhanded compliments from people.

"Has no one ever told you?" Quinn asked, walking closer to her.

"Only my fathers and I don't believe they count," Rachel replied.

Quinn tilted her head as she stopped just in front of Rachel. "People at this school are idiots if they can't see what an amazing, beautiful person you are."

Rachel ducked her head and Quinn reached out, taking her hand, and pulling her to her feet. When Rachel looked into Quinn's eyes, she had no doubt the blonde meant what she said. For a second, she forgot why she couldn't be with Quinn and simply let herself get lost in the moment. When Quinn leaned down, Rachel's arms wrapped around her neck, pulling her closer. Unlike their first kiss, Rachel wasn't frozen this time. Her lips melded with Quinn's and she let herself feel exactly what was happening. As much as she had thought about this the past few days, the real thing was so much better. Eventually, though, she realized what she was doing and pulled away.

"I can't do this," Rachel whispered, touching her fingers to her lips, always missing the feeling of Quinn's lips pressed against them.

"Okay," Quinn said, her voice laced with disappointment.

"I do like you, Quinn, but I can't do this behind Sam's back," Rachel stated.

"I can give you time," Quinn replied.

"You will?" Rachel asked.

Quinn smiled softly at her. "Of course. I understand that it's complicated for you. Plus, it's better than you turning me down completely, which I thought was happening this morning."

"I just—I need to figure out how to talk to Sam about this before anything else happens," Rachel explained.

Quinn nodded. "I'll be here when you figure it out."

Rachel smiled and asked, "Now that all of this is sorted out, should we go work on that project of ours?"

"Unless we want to fail, we probably should," Quinn joked.

Rachel laughed. "Would you rather work at your house or mine?"

"Whichever," Quinn said, shrugging.

"How about your house," Rachel suggested. "My fathers are being rather nosy at the moment and I doubt they will leave us along long enough to get any work done."

Quinn laughed and the two began walking to the door; as soon as they were in the hall, Quinn said, "I liked the song."

Rachel smiled. "I was hoping you would."

* * *

**The song Rachel sung was I Dream by Billie Piper.**


	13. Perfect

**Chapter 13 – Perfect**

"So, is anything interesting going on in your life?" Leroy asked as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"Not particularly," Rachel replied.

"I do believe our daughter just lied to us," Hiram said, joining his husband at the table.

"I concur," Leroy agreed. "Is there anything you would like to tell us?"

"No," Rachel said, trying to ignore her fathers' antics.

"In that case, I guess we could ask Quinn," Leroy replied.

"She is going to be here later," Hiram noted.

"Maybe she wouldn't lie to us like our own daughter is," Leroy added.

Rachel narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't."

Leroy laughed and said, "No, but it is awfully tempting."

She was thankful they missed the kiss last weekend, but they had been pressing her for details about the date—yes, she was now calling it a date. She had been tightlipped about it, which only seemed to make them even more curious. She just wasn't ready to talk about it; she knew they would ask what she was going to do and she still didn't really have an answer for it. She knew she needed to tell Sam, but it was easier said than done. Part of her was hoping Sam would get over his crush soon so the whole thing wouldn't be as big of an issure.

"We're just concerned about you, sweetie," Hiram said, turning serious.

"I know," Rachel quietly replied.

"If you want to talk to us, we'll just listen," Leroy stated. "No questions, no comments."

She was skeptical that her fathers could abide by that, so she asked, "Do you promise?"

"I swear," Leroy replied.

She looked at Hiram and he said, "I promise."

Rachel took a deep breath as she looked at the wall, trying to think about what to say and how to say it. She didn't need to go into too many details—she would rather not discuss the kiss with her fathers—but she also didn't want to leave out too much because that would inevitably lead to questions despite what they said.

"Saturday night, Quinn and I went to dinner and a movie," Rachel began. "You were correct about it being a date. She attempted to pay for everything, but I wouldn't let her because I was in denial." Rachel cleared her throat. "When she drove me home, she kissed me."

"I told you we should have been watching for them," Hiram said to Leroy.

Leroy shushed him and Rachel continued by saying, "I really didn't think she liked me, but it was hard not to see it after that. I avoided her for several days, but then she talked to me on Wednesday. She thought I was avoiding her because of the kiss, but for the wrong reasons. Later I finally told her the truth—that I like her, but that Sam also likes her."

Her fathers were quiet for a moment and then Hiram raised his hand and asked, "Can I ask one question."

"Yes," Rachel replied.

"How did she react?" Hiram asked.

"After I told her I need time, she told me she understands and that she will wait," Rachel recalled.

Leroy nodded. "I like this girl."

"I haven't talked to her a lot since then," Rachel said. "As you know, we worked on our project Wednesday, but we were focused on it and didn't have a lot time to talk about other things. Tonight will be the first time I will spend a significant amount of time with her; luckily there will be three other people around, so hopefully that makes the situation a bit easier. I just hope we can continue to be friends while I figure everything out; I would hate to lose her as a friend."

"From the sound of it, I don't think there's any chance in that," Leroy replied. "Wait, sorry—I'm not supposed to talk, am I?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You can talk."

"So, she doesn't like Sam at all?" Hiram asked.

"No," Rachel answered.

"Poor Sam," Leroy said, frowning.

"He does seem to get rejected by every girl he likes," Hiram added.

"Well, she hasn't exactly rejected him yet," Rachel interjected. "He still hadn't made a move or really even attempted to speak to her."

"What has he been waiting for?" Leroy asked.

"I don't know," Rachel sighed, "but I wish he would get over his crush before I have to talk to him. It would make the discussion much easier for both of us."

"Do you think that's going to happen any time soon?" Leroy asked.

Rachel sighed again. "No. Usually he asks the girl out and she turns him down, which makes him get over his crush fairly fast, but there's something different this time." She shook her head. "I don't know if he simply likes Quinn more than usual and is afraid to even to talk to her or if it's something else. We really don't talk about it a lot."

"Maybe you should," Leroy advised. "Maybe you should talk to him about it and see where he's at."

"What if that only makes it worse?" Rachel asked.

"Well, that is a possibility," Leroy replied.

Rachel put her forehead down on the table and mumbled, "I wish I knew what to do."

"You'll figure it out, sweetie," Hiram said, patting her hand.

"Hopefully I figure it out soon," Rachel remarked.

* * *

The doorbell rang and Rachel paused to look at the clock. It was far too early for her friends to show up—they weren't supposed to be there for another few hours—so she wondered who it was. Her family didn't really get a lot of random visitors; her fathers generally knew when their friends were coming, but they hadn't said anything about it.

"Rachel, it's Sam!"

She didn't know what he was doing there, but she definitely wasn't expecting him. He knew she was having her sleepover tonight and wasn't invited despite trying to get her fathers to change their mind. She tried to get them to let him stay over in the guest room while the rest of them slept in her room, but they wouldn't budge. She didn't really understand why, either; yes, Sam was a boy, but it's not as if he would try anything. She really didn't think it was fair that Kurt was allowed to come and Sam wasn't, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"Hey," Sam said, knocking on her door. "Can I come in or are you, like, indecent."

"You may enter," Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

The door opened and Sam poked his head in. "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning," Rachel said as she grabbed her notebook to put in her desk. "I was doing a little homework, but I thought I should tidy the room before people arrive."

"Cool," Sam said with a nod.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked.

"I just came to bring you this," Sam replied, holding up a package. "I was going to give it to you tomorrow, but my dad traded Monday with some guy at work, so they both have tomorrow off. I don't know what we're gonna do, but they're talking about driving somewhere and spending the day together."

"What is it?" Rachel asked when he handed over the package.

"It's your birthday present," Sam said, laughing.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that," Rachel replied.

"You're my best friend," Sam stated. "I had to get you a present."

She hoped he didn't spend much money on her; it would be a sweet gesture, but she knew he didn't have it to waste. When she unwrapped it and opened the small box, there was a pendant inside on a strap.

"I promise it's not real leather," Sam instantly said. "I know that necklace of yours broke, so I got you something new."

"Thank you." Rachel smiled as she pulled it out of the box to examine it. "It's lovely."

"Here, let me help you," Sam said, taking it from her hands, and Rachel turned around and lifted her hair from her neck. "I found it at that convention we went to over the summer; I mean, it's just your name written in the Avatar font, but I thought it was cool."

"No, it's perfect," Rachel said, smiling. "Thank you, Sam."

It's not something she would have gotten herself, but it was definitely something she was willing to wear. It was nice that he thought of her and had apparently been saving it for almost a half a year. It was especially nice because she knew he didn't have a lot of money when they went to the convention. He'd wanted a replica sword from some television show but complained that it would have taken all his money and that there were other things he'd like to buy. Apparently this was one of those things and she appreciated the thought.

"So, you don't know where you're going tomorrow?" she asked as she looked down at the pendant.

"Nah," Sam replied. "They want to keep it a secret or something. Hopefully we go to the aquarium; Stevie and Stacey have both been begging them to take them, so I know it'd make them happy."

"Is there anywhere _you_ would like to go?" Rachel asked.

Sam shrugged. "I don't really care."

Rachel thought it was sweet that Sam was always thinking about his brother and sister over himself. She didn't know any other sixteen year old boy that did that. The Evans' were such a wonderful family and she wished she could do something to change their situation, but she knew there was nothing she could do. She just hated seeing them struggle so much and how unfair it was to Sam. He was missing out a lot on his teen years because he had to watch his siblings so much; he never complained, though, like she knew a lot of other boys his age would.

"So, who all's coming tonight?" Sam asked, sitting down on her bed.

"Tina, Mercedes, Kurt, and Quinn," Rachel said, picking up a stray sock that had fallen beside her bed.

"Quinn's coming?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Rachel replied.

"Since when?" he asked.

"We—went to the movies last weekend and I invited her then," Rachel answered.

He looked surprised. "You guys went to the movies?"

Rachel nodded and avoided eye contact with her friend.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Rachel lied, shrugging. "It didn't seem very important."

"Rach," Sam said, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yes?" Rachel asked, reluctantly looking up.

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked back.

"You're just—something's been weird with you lately," Sam replied. "You're being all secretive or something."

Rachel sighed; she wasn't ready to talk about this with him. She had been writing down ideas in her notebook about how to go about the conversation—at this point she was thinking about making a PowerPoint to show him—but she was nowhere near being prepared.

"It's nothing, Sam," Rachel lied again.

"Okay," Sam said quietly, not looking very convinced, but then he smiled. "Did she say anything about me?"

"No," Rachel replied.

He looked disappointed as he said, "Oh."

"I'm sorry, Sam, but I don't think she's interested," Rachel stated.

Sam sighed and stood up. "I should go."

He looked so dejected and it only made Rachel feel even guiltier than she already had been. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Sam said, shrugging. "See ya Monday."

"Have a good weekend," Rachel said.

As Sam left the room, Rachel sat on the bed, and then flopped onto her back. She wondered why this had to be so complicated. Life was so much easier before she realized her crush on Quinn. Now she was lying to her best friend and she knew someone would inevitably get hurt once the truth came out.

* * *

There was loud talking from the living room—Kurt and Hiram were having an argument over whether Rent was better in movie form or on the stage—as Rachel walked to the door. When she opened it, Tina was on the other side, bundled up on a coat, scarf, and hat. Rachel quickly stepped aside to allow her entry from the cold, and to get away from the chilly breeze that was hitting her.

"Sorry I'm late," Tina apologized. "I was working on a paper for English and lost track of time."

"It's quite alright," Rachel replied. "Quinn called to say she was also going to be late, so we've just been in the living room for the past hour."

Tina frowned as the voices got louder. "What's going on?"

"Kurt and my father are having a discussion," Rachel replied. "Kurt thinks the Rent movie is better and my father is arguing the merits of seeing it on the Broadway stage."

"How long has that been going on?" Tina asked.

"About twenty minutes," Rachel recalled. "It all started when my father flipped past an old episode of Law & Order and they have been going at it ever since. I hope you don't mind, but we ordered pizza already since Mercedes and Daddy were both getting hungry. We got a large variety of pizza, so hopefully there is something you like. If not, I'm sure Daddy would be perfectly fine placing another order."

"I'm not really picky," Tina replied. "Anything would be fine, really."

"That may be it now," Rachel said when the doorbell rang again. "I'll get it."

"There's money on the hall table," Leroy called after her.

Rachel opened the door and the delivery boy was standing there with five boxes. It was a bit excessive for seven people, but no one could agree on toppings, so they ended up ordering far too much food to please everyone. She grabbed the money her father had put on the table and handed it to the delivery guy.

"Thanks," he said, handing over the boxes.

"Thank you," Rachel replied.

Just as she was about to shut the door with her foot, she heard Quinn say, "Let me help you with those."

The pizza boxes were lifted out of her hands before she could protest that she was perfectly fine carrying them and she was left huffing. "I could carry them, you know."

"I know," Quinn replied as she walked away.

"Just—set them in the dining room," Rachel said, pointing her in the right direction. "Everyone, the food has arrived."

"It seems like it isn't the only thing that's arrived," Leroy remarked.

"Yes, Quinn is also here," Rachel replied.

"Let's eat, everyone!" Leroy called out. "And no more Rent discussion."

Everyone filed into the dining room, where plates and napkins were already laid out. They all took their seats around the table, and when Rachel sat down, Quinn came over to sit down next to her while Kurt, Tina, and Mercedes sat across from them. She tried to ignore the butterflies she got when Quinn's elbow accidently brushed her as well as the looks her fathers were giving her. Luckily, her friends were too busy digging into the boxes of pizza to notice their behavior.

"Oh, we forgot the drinks!" Hiram commented.

"I'll get them," Leroy said.

"I'll help you," Rachel said.

"It's your birthday sleepover," Quinn said, putting her hand on Rachel's arm to stop her from standing. "I'll help."

Rachel huffed. "I am perfectly capable of helping."

"That doesn't mean you should have to," Quinn retorted.

"She's right, honey," Leroy said, smiling. "It's your day; Quinn and I can get them."

She was a little apprehensive about leaving either of her fathers alone with Quinn, but she couldn't really protest without bringing too much attention to the situation. After all, Kurt was in the room and he was bound to pick up on it. Thankfully, Quinn and her father were not in the kitchen for very long, and she didn't think they were gone long enough for him to say anything to embarrass her.

"Thank you," she said when Quinn put a bottle of water in front of her.

"You're welcome," Quinn said, smiling at her.

Rachel looked across the table and saw that Kurt was intently watching them, so she cleared her throat and asked, "What does everyone have planned for the holiday break?"

"We're going to my mamaw's house," Mercedes replied.

"I wanted to go skiing with Blaine's family, but the Hummels and Hudsons are having a joint Christmas this year," Kurt said, not sounding very happy about it. "My dad thinks it will be a good bonding experience for us."

"Maybe it will be," Hiram remarked.

Kurt sighed and shook his head. "I want my dad to be happy, but he wants us all to be a family and that's just not going to happen."

"Maybe it would if you would try," Mercedes replied.

"And if your dad suddenly started dating Santana's mom, would you want to be a family?" Kurt asked.

"Well, no, but that's different," Mercedes answered.

"How?" Kurt asked.

"Because Santana is a bitch," Mercedes stated. "Excuse my French. I'm not saying Finn's all that great, but he isn't_ that_ bad. Just be glad it's not Puck."

Kurt shuddered. "Believe me, I am. Could you imagine trying to have a family dinner with Puck at the dinner table? He would probably take me outside and throw me in the garbage can after dessert."

"Has he done that before?" Quinn asked.

"Nearly every day our sophomore year," Kurt replied. "He was partial to the one near the football field."

"Aren't you glad you didn't date him?" Mercedes remarked.

"Believe me, there was no chance in that happening," Quinn replied.

"Most of us were surprised," Tina said quietly. "Girls usually end up falling for his charms."

"I know his type all too well," Quinn replied. "I've met a hundred guys like him, and I can see right through them."

"Smart girl," Leroy observed.

Rachel smiled as she grabbed the box with her pizza in it while everyone else continued to talk about how lucky Kurt was to not be getting Puck as a possible stepbrother and how smart Quinn was for not going out with him. She felt someone's eyes on her, and when she glanced to the side, Quinn was looking at her. The blonde smiled softly and then looked away, taking a bite of her pizza, and leaving Rachel wondering what was going through the other girl's mind.

* * *

"Sorry!" Rachel said, turning around so fast that she nearly ran into the doorframe.

Quinn began laughing behind her and said, "It's okay."

Rachel slowly turned around, certain that her face was still red from seeing Quinn in her bra. She tried to compose herself—it's not like she had never seen a girl in a bra before—but it wasn't working.

"Sorry, Kurt and Mercedes are fighting over the mirror in the other bathroom and Tina's changing in the guest bedroom," Quinn explained.

"It's quite alright," Rachel said, her voice slightly higher than usual. "I just wasn't expecting you to be in here or I would have knocked."

She watched as Quinn grabbed her bag from the bed, pulling something out before setting it in the corner of the room. She continued standing awkwardly by the door, still too embarrassed to move further into the room. She hoped one of her other friends would come back and provide a distraction, but when she looked down the hallway, no one was coming.

"I, uh—I brought two things with me," Quinn said, sitting down on Rachel's bed.

"Oh?" Rachel said, slightly intrigued.

"Yeah," Quinn replied. "I don't know what you had planned for the night, but I brought this with me in case you wanted to watch it."

She held up a DVD of The Breakfast Club and Rachel smiled. "I would be amenable to watching that tonight."

Quinn nodded. "And I know your birthday isn't actually until tomorrow, but I wanted to give you this tonight."

Quinn held out a slim, wrapped box and Rachel took it in her hands. "You really didn't have to get me anything."

"It's your birthday," Quinn said with a shrug of her shoulders.

She shook it slightly, wondering what it could be, and then glanced at Quinn. "Thank you."

Rachel carefully slid her finger underneath the flap that was taped down and opened the end, pulling the box out. It was small and very light, and she wondered what could be inside. When she opened the plain box, she gasped and it nearly fell out of her hands in shock. She stood there and gaped at it, too shocked to respond. It took her a moment to regain her senses, but when she did, she threw herself into Quinn's arms without her usual warning.

"How did—oh my gosh," Rachel said when she pulled away. "This is—where did you get this?"

"It was my grandmother's," Quinn replied, shrugging. "I thought you might like it."

"Like it? I love it!" Rachel practically squealed. "Oh, this is too much."

Quinn smiled and shook her head. "No, it's not."

"But it was your grandmother's," Rachel stated.

"And something I'm sure you will treasure for the rest of your life," Quinn replied.

Rachel looked down at the Playbill and still couldn't believe her eyes. Not only was it a Playbill for Funny Girl, but it was autographed by none other than her idol, Barbra Streisand.

"I don't know what to say," Rachel whispered.

"You don't have to say anything," Quinn said softly.

Rachel looked up at Quinn and stared into her eyes. She swallowed thickly and hesitantly leaned up, giving the blonde a soft, simple kiss. When she pulled away, she looked down, but Quinn reached out, cupping her cheek, and bringing her chin up to look at her.

"You don't have to feel so guilty, you know?" Quinn whispered.

"I do," Rachel replied.

Quinn sighed and looked down, tilting her head. "Is that new?"

"What?" Rachel asked.

"The necklace," Quinn said, reaching down to hold it.

"Oh, yes," Rachel replied. "Sam gave it to me as a birthday present."

"It's pretty," Quinn commented, her eyes devoid of emotion.

"It is," Rachel agreed. "It wouldn't really be fair to compare them, but—I do like your present more. I couldn't think of anything more perfect for me."

Quinn nodded and released the necklace. "I'm glad you like it."

"Love it," Rachel corrected.

They looked at each other for a few moments, but then Rachel heard someone coming down the hall and put some distance between them. Tina walked in a few seconds later and looked between them.

"Is everything okay?" Tina asked.

"Fine," they said in unison.

"Okay," Tina replied, furrowing her brows as she set her bag down.

"I think Kurt is going to be a while," Tina remarked. "I heard Kurt saying something about his moisturizing routine."

"Well, we can always start the movie without him," Rachel said.

"What are we watching?" Tina asked, walking over, and sitting down on Rachel's bed.

"I thought our first movie could be The Breakfast Club," Rachel answered, giving Quinn a smile.

"Ooh, I love that movie," Tina replied.

"Rachel's never seen it," Quinn commented.

Tina gasped. "How is that possible?"

"Well, that is going to change tonight," Rachel declared.

"What's going to change?" Mercedes asked as she came into the room.

"Rachel's never seen The Breakfast Club," Tina responded.

"How is that possible?" Mercedes asked, sounding aghast.

"I know, okay?" Rachel replied. "I understand that I need to watch it, and that is exactly what we are doing tonight."

"You got any popcorn?" Mercedes asked.

"We have some downstairs," Rachel replied. "I can make it if you would like."

Mercedes waved her off. "Nah, I got it."

"Wait for me," Tina replied, jumping up from the bed.

They walked out of the room leaving Quinn and Rachel alone again. After a moment, the blonde glanced at her and then turned, walking over to sit on the bed. Rachel watched as she got comfortable before joining her. As they sat there, Rachel noticed Quinn fidgeting with a ring on her finger. She wanted to reach over and take her hand, but she knew that wouldn't be fair to the blonde. After all, she was the one that told Quinn she needed time.


End file.
